


Tales of Serendipity

by Valkyrian_Profiler



Series: Tales of Serendipity [1]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Asch Lives, F/M, I Don't Even Know, I love Mieu, I will be very confusing, Lorelai is a piece of shit sometimes., M/M, Mieu is still cute, Multi, No Fucks were given., Somehow, Time Travel, but his voice in english just...., fyi that piece of crap is me, yiu also know you're a piece of shit for justifying crap like that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:33:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 54,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valkyrian_Profiler/pseuds/Valkyrian_Profiler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repetition, during the first time it was too short.<br/>There wasn't enough time to prepare. Akzeriuth still happened. Eldrant still happened. Lorelai barely made it.<br/>And still Asch was not here.<br/>The second time he was sent back a bit further, more time for him to prepare, but not enough time for him to feign sudden knowledge, slowly he made it seem he was slowly remembering.</p><p> Still not enough.</p><p>The third time, nearly there.<br/>The 4th time he made the choice on where to go.<br/>5th time he thought it through. Or so he thought.<br/>6th time same result as the last.<br/>Here's hoping 7 was his lucky number.</p><p>He'd go back to the beginning the moment he was brought back.</p><p>The moment he replaced Asch.</p><p>*Currently-Under-Reconstruction-As-Author-Cleans-Up-Plot-And-Refocuses-Characterization-And-Flow-Very-Very-Sorry*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lucky No. 7

**Author's Note:**

> This will come to bite me in the butt, since I already have 2 other stories...oh well plot bunnies dictate my life now anyway.  
> 6/2/16  
> Title Change

It doesn't feel real. I want it to so desperately be real.

Lorelai showed me of a time where Asch and I could both be. He finally opened up to us. To me. He married Natalia, Father and Mother were happy. I remained Goodwill Ambassador, and he became King.

** It was a dream, a far off wish. **

But, oh, how I desperately wanted it to be real. After the events of Akzeriuth, I began to fear Asch, and then that fear changed. Like a caterpillar slowly morphing into a butterfly, I was in complete awe of Asch. 

Of his power. Of his strength. Of his will to live even though we were both dying.

It reminded me of another replica...2 of them. Ion and Sync. And in the dark space between Limbo and death,(or was it life and death.), he agonized. Clutching at his head. 

Three times he'd come back, and three times he'd failed. He could not save Ion. And he could not save Sync. Ion even told him being the only one who could become his confidant. 

Ion...could not be saved. No matter how hard he tried, not matter how far back he went.

Sync could, though.

And through his dying breath, Ion pleaded, " _Save Sync. He wants to live so badly. But for him, his existence as a replica and his loyalty to Van overrules his desires. Please, make him desperate enough to want to live for him. For his existence. For his life."_

Oh, the people he'd killed, they said third time's the charm. He'd become a fucking psychopath in that one. Sad thing was, Ion and Jade seemed fine with it, but they had to follow the law.

4th time he went back a tad further. And tried to change things through Natalia, and his mother. It was a low and dirty trick but he'd had to. (He'd also taken up reading by that point.)

5th time. he'd just about given up. Not caring what happened. He tried to kill Van only to get Asch killed instead. He never tried a risky move like that again.

6th time went by exactly the same as the first, Akzeriuth, BETRAYAL, Asch, Van, death. Repeat.

Here was hoping 7 was his lucky number.

 


	2. Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, now wiser from his 7 repeats of time, decides to do things a bit differently this time around. He could already speak, read, write and walk. So he could use this to his advantage.  
> 'Vandesdelca, prepare yourself. I'm not the same replica anymore.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...My summary is so freakin' corny....dear god. This is really coming back to bite me in the ass...Like really. But, playing the 3DS version of TotA will do that to you....I don't regret it though, it's opened up my eyes to a new pairing Jade/Luke, which there is not enough love for. So to indulge myself and other like me, I present to you Chapter 2.

**The first thing that stimulated Luke's beyond frazzled senses was that he was being fussed over, he looked around and saw the maids that had served him through his many lives.**

'First came Mara, Sylvia, Luna, Joanne, Patricia,Nadia, and the Head Maid, Annalise.'

_< They took care of you, make sure to thank them for this time around.>_

He didn't need that niggling voice in the back of his head to tell him twice. He glanced around, and he saw Guy a relative distance away.The blond had a look of worry and anger written across his features. A gut-wrenching wave of guilt washed over Luke as he looked everywhere and anywhere but Guy, he'd hurt a lot of people, he'd disappointed so many. _He'd hurt his best friend turned brother._

'I wonder, did he originally stay far from me, because...I was the son of the man that killed his family? His home land.'

Luke would definitely make sure to respect Guy a lot more this time. He'd try and pry open the doors that the Guy barricaded himself behind, he didn't want to chance anything.

"Luke!!" His father called after him. He couldn't just say he automatically recognized them...best to feign amnesia again. But was that really the best thing to do? It had always hurt his father deeply when Luke failed to remember any part of his past, his mother illness-wracked body and his inability to help either set their worries aside.

"Wh-who -a-are you?!" Luke shouted defensively. He hoped that they bought the act, apparently they did, the Maids and Guy at least, his Father, however, did not. The man took to tightening his grip, trying to recount events that they spent together ,prattling of anything that appeared off the top of his head.

"Luke, do you not remember me, it's me your father, Crimson fon Fabre. You are Luke fon Fabre!!" As he continued, his voice got quieter and quieter.

Luke hung his head in shame. He may look like Asch, but he was not Asch. He could not fill the void left in his parent's hearts. He wanted to, so badly di he wants to do so, he would, he definitely would, for now, he'd have to risk breaking their hearts.

"I don't know who that is, I DON'T KNOW YOU!! Where am I?!"

And that continued up until the point his Mother, Uncle, and Natalia came to the manor. He feigned being amnesiac, and they bought it. Every lie he'd one day regret, every feign of amnesia his self-hate grew. Guy, who was usually so perceptive, didn't even bat and eye at his amnesia. 

But that was probably because Guy still didn't care much for him.

'This was probably before he started to care.' He thought as much and continued his trek through the manor. His Governesses had let him out early, it seemed that despite his amnesia, he absorbed material rather quickly. Seven lifetimes of learning the so-called "new material" helped in that endeavor. He was already on par with the knowledge held by Fon Tech researchers. (Probably as smart as Jade.)

And that was all in three days. If he could recall correctly, Asch would have made it to Baticul by now. So he traveled along the edge of the garden,along the fence, found a gap and dropped a note there, hopefully, Asch would find the note addressed to him.

* * *

 "Luke!! Where'd you go?!" Guy called for him, he sounded like a cross between angry and worried. Luke would just have to get used to it, though,  he was kidnapped and the manor was really large, anyone could've just up and kidnapped him.

_< Just like your precious **Master Van** right.>_

Luke inwardly grimaced at this point calling 'that' Master Van was disgraceful. But Van didn't deserve so much hate, all he was trying to do was free the world from the Score. And atone for the mistake he'd made in his childhood that prompted the Hod War. The once dreamt life he'd robbed the unborn Tear.

_< And he felt the need to destroy the World and his own Sister do it. Not so sympathetic when you think about that huh?>_

"Luke, where did you go, you gave Auntie Suzanne a heart attack and you know how sick she is!!" Luke flinched at the sound of Natalia scolding voice. It seemed him disappearing for a few minutes sent the whole Manor into a frenzy. But that was to be expected. He'd been kidnapped and missing for over a month, the event had caused his mother's health to decline further, and it seemed the doctors could do nothing.

'Just bear with it for the next few months,' he'd told himself,'Soon Van will be here and I can set my plans into motion.'

"Luke!! Have you been listening to me at all?!" Natalia yelled again. Her face was red with anger, or it could be because she was out of breath to form her long rant. He bit back the urge to laugh at her tomato red face, despite how funny she looked.

"No, but...maybe Mother could come with me to the garden today." Luke offered, he wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"The garden? Why?" Changing the subject was a success.

"I just that, since she's worried herself sick, some fresh air outside might just help her feel a little better." He just wanted to make sure Asch got the letter. But spending time outside with his Mother and Father might just help ease the atmosphere in the house. And maybe he could better comprehend the extent of his mother's illness.

* * *

"Here you go, Mother!" Luke cheered as he handed his Mother a flower crown. He picked large pink ones, highlighted by smaller white ones, and then tied together with a few long bendy twigs and some leaves.

His mother smiled as always, they were bags under her eyes, and she still had a few bouts of coughing, but she was thoroughly enjoying being with her family. "Thank you, Luke, I see you artistic skill haven't left you."

"Perhaps he's starting to remember." His Father offered, he was dead set on Luke remembering this time around. The thing was Luke didn't want to, otherwise,Natalia would expect him to remember that promise. And he really didn't feel like it. 

'No point in getting her hopes up now, only to let her down later.'

"Actually, I didn't really expect it to come out so well. But maybe it has something to do with Muscle Memory." Luke offered, changing the subject once again.

"Muscle Memory?" Natalia had stopped braiding the flower chain in her hands, now paying close attention to Luke's explanation.

He was so thorough, Duke Fabre had completely forgotten what he was going to tell Luke after all this.

Meanwhile, Luke had noticed another mop of red peeking from behind the fence. It was definitely Asch, who picked up the paper, only to stop and listen to Luke's explanation. Asch had caught on that Luke knew he was there, and quickly fled. Clearly red with embarassment.

Luke inwardly smiled. 'Now then Vandesdelca, let the games begin.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna go work on the next chapter of 私があったので！(Because I was THERE!!). So Bye.  
> Edit 5/3/2016  
> Added a bunch of stuff, fixed up some misspellings and dropped some hints.


	3. Sylphday ,Lorelei Decan N.D 2011, 16-A Place called Hod

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today, Luke would confront them...or at least he would confront Guy and Pere. Vandesdelca was the wild card. He could throw a wrench in Luke's carefully laid out plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....I should really be working on 私があったので！(Because I was THERE!!)...but this story was just calling out to me...I'll just update this till I hit a wall. Maybe then the plot bunnies will hit me for my other stories.

Luke woke up, or, at least, he thought he was awake. He was lying on the grass of Tataroo Valley, it was night. The once floating Island of Eldrant was now in the sea, a constant reminder of how the score should no longer be followed. Although this scene resembled the aftermath of the battle with Van...it felt a lot more like his first meeting with Tear.

"Mystearica..." he called out.Even if there was no sound, her presence was just something he got used too.

"Luke...if you miss him so much, why don't you just tell him?" Him? Maybe she was referring to Asch. Yes, That was probably it.

"I can't. Tear, I can't and you know that."

"If anything at all, he deserves-"

And the dream begins to shift again.

* * *

 This time he sees through Lorelei's eyes. Or what he assumes are Lorelei's eyes.

He watches his Father's, Kimlasca's men, the White Knights, invade Hod. He watches as everyone is slaughtered. No man, woman, child, or elderly is left alive.

_'Oh no! Please, No!!'_

The same dream always played in his head, always. always.

Guy was hiding in the fireplace. Mary was instructing him to remain there. The maids had barricaded the doors, but it wouldn't hold out against the spears and clubs of the White Knights.

_'Please!! Not again!! I beg of you!'_

_< Didn't the people of Hod also beg for mercy.>_

True they did, and during his first time around, Guy had still been bitter about that. 

_'He changed, though!!'_

_< If he changed, then how come the curse slot worked so well?!>_

That voice had a point, Guy as Gaillardia had such a deep seated hatred for him, he'd wanted to kill him. He supposed that as he was now, helped change Guy's attitude.

And that's when this memory faded out as well.

* * *

When Luke woke up, it was morning. The made had yet to come wake him up, so he drew himself a bath. Wanting to get it out of the way. As he sat in the tub ,washing,he thought about Guy. Guy was Malkuthian, naturally he should hate Kimlascan Royalty for the eradication of his family.

_'But I don't want Guy to hate me! He's my gynophobic Best Friend/Brother!'_

Although that wasn't much to be proud of, he was still one of the only people that held faith in him after Akzeriuth.

Getting out of the bath, Luke planned how he'd want the next 7 years to go. He'd have to train both with Van, Guy, and the head guard in the Manor. Then there was Guy to apologize to, in a subtle way without ever letting on he knew more than he thought. There was finding something to read as well, there wasn't exactly an abundance of books in the Manor.

He was half way through with buttoning his clothes when Guy walked in."Wah!! L-Luke, what're you doing, when did you-Huh?' Guy sputtered opening the door, he'd forgotten after he was "returned" to the manor, Guy had become his babysitter. Most of his needs were taken care of by Guy.

"I woke up early and decided to get ready...Did I do something bad?" Luke queried, he had to play off being dumb and innocent. Guy grimaced at his face and shook his head,"Your Parents want to see you in the Drawing Room, you have a guest." Guy turned to leave, and Luke saw this as his only chance to get it over with.

"...Hey, Guy."

"What." He was annoyed, but his face didn't show it. It kind of stung to be hated so. But it was only natural, Kimlasca ordered his family's death. He had every right to demand his life.

"I was hoping you could tell me a bit about Hod and Malkuth, no one will answer my questions about them."

* * *

Guy visibly stiffened and his eyes widened.He opened his mouth through gritted teeth, "Why do you want to know about Hod and Malkuth."

"Because there aren't any books about them."

"Why ask me?"

"Because you can go outside, and you've lived longer."

"There are people who've lived longer than me."

"Yeah, but they don't want to tell me anything."

"No duh, you're Kimlascan, and Malkuth is your enemy, Hod included." Guy was really angry now. This Fabre boy was really annoying ,always demanding things, granted in recent weeks he hadn't been as much, even saying please and thank you to everyone. And he talked to Pere often about flowers, which Pere seemed to enjoy. 

He even scolded Ramdas for being so arrogant, when Guy had taken a second too long watching Luke. Ramdas hadn't dared to make another remark about any of the servants again. (Publicly anyway.)

"Okay so not about Hod, since you're being really angry at that, but at least about Malkuth." Luke pouted, maybe he wouldn't get Guy to talk about Hod, but Malkuth was a start. 

"Why Malkuth, there's no need to know about your enemy-"

"Malkuth is not an enemy!" Luke had gotten angry then. Jade was Malkuthian, so was Tear by technicality. Peony, and Guy too.

"...What do you mean that it's not an enemy?" Guy was suspicious at this point, Luke was being oddly persistent about it. Just what was going on in that head of his.

"If you don't want to tell me," Luke walked past him,"Then I'll just figure it out myself." And with that, he walked away.

* * *

Luckily, Luke could better resolve one of his problems today. Natalia had decided to visit today and afterward propositioned him with a walk through the manor gardens. 'To better reacquaint ourselves.'

It was rather convenient, so he took the chance when it was offered to him. "Natalia," He began,"Can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it, Luke?" She jumped at the chance to help her amnesiac Fiance. Luke felt a bit guilty about taking advantage of her. But he couldn't go around feeling guilty about it now.

"As you know, I've learned everything the Governesses have to offer, and there aren't that many books within the manor. So I was wondering could you get books brought here on a weekly basis. I'd like to learn everything I can." Natalia thought about it for a moment, before nodding her head in agreement.

"But may I ask Luke...why would you want to learn more? You already know all you need to be a good leader." Ah, the million gald question, why? Thankfully he'd come prepared for that.

"You know of the Hod war 15 years ago, and the treaty that was signed at the end of it?" When Natalia nodded in confirmation Luke continued,"Well, I think that maybe it won't last, I've heard some people say degrading things about Malkuth. And although I don't consider Malkuth anything special, there are still people living there. Innocent people who go about their day to day lives, not knowing about all the politics." Natalia was listening intently, but he could see that she was having trouble following. And in his periphery vision, he could make out the shape of Guy following discreetly behind him.(Or trying to at least.)

"It might make more sense if I had Guy explain it. Guy instead of trying to conceal yourself, why don't you come over here instead?" Guy jumped at the mention of his name and slowly came out of hiding. He was probably assigned to keep a close eye on them, to make sure Luke wasn't kidnapped again. It was a large hassle but something he'd put up with. (Or learn to.)

Guy reluctantly walked forward, avoiding Natalia like the plague. "You called for me, Young Master, Princess."

Luke smiled warmly at Guy and engaged in some friendly banter with him. For the slightest moment, Gaillardia has ceased to exist and all that remained was Guy.

* * *

 

It had been 2 weeks since his first human and normal interaction with Guy. Guy was still wary, and kept his wits about him, but otherwise, they could engage in lighthearted fun. But then there was the niggling fear that he could side with Vandesdelca, this time, remained deeply rooted in his head.

And it couldn't be through pure coincidence, that the day Van would come to start training him would also be the day his first headache occurred.(Well technically it was the 2nd time that day, but Lorelei didn't count since he was always butting in.)

_< Hey, replica. Can you hear me? I got your letter.>_

_/It took you a month to give me a reply. Most letters are answered within half the time./_

_< Hey! Don't blame me for your vague instructions!>_

_/Asch, I don't have time to listen to your whining. Today _Vandesdelca_ comes to begin his training with me./_

_<...Why should I believe any of what you're saying? You took my life away! >_

_/A life I don't want, but was forced into. Asch, did you read through the letter, or did you burn it half way, out of spite and anger?/_

_< No, I read it all the way.>_

_/Then that proves you trust me. And listen to me when I tell you that he will have you under close watch for the next 6 years before he even lets you go on a solo mission./_

_< What do you want from me?! You've already taken everything!>_

_/Everything that I will give back to you in 7 years. But you have to help me, Asch. I don't love Natalia the way you did. I can't, she's too much like a sister to me./_

_<...Will your plan guarantee that I will return home someday?  >_

_/Yes it will, but until then you will have to bear with me calling, you big brother. I am your replica after all./_

_< A replica that is confusingly older than me.>_

_/We should cut our conversation short here. I think someone's coming! Remember what to do Asch, don't forget!/_

_< Yeah, Yeah! Shut up Dreck.>_

* * *

 

"Luke, your parents are requesting your presence in the drawing room." Yes, things would be going smoothly, from here on out. Hopefully.

"Alright, I'm going now."

Luke walked along the center of the Manor, greeting Pere as he did so, and a few of the maids and guards as well. In the Drawing Room, sat his parents and the esteemed Commandant of the Order of Lorelei. He had to play off the shy traumatized child here. So he walked over to his Mother and sat next to her. She chuckled, thinking of his actions adorable, whereas his Father grunted in disapproval.

The man across from him smirked and introduce himself. "Hello Luke, I am Van Grants, Commandant to the Order of Lorelei. From this day forward, I will be your sword instructor."

Luke timidly reached out, or acted timidly, and bowed slightly, "Please to meet you, I am Luke fon Fabre, I hope to learn much for you."

Oh Vandesdelca, the trap you walked right into. The things Luke would make suffer for in the future. Vandesdelca Musto Fende had no idea, what Little Luke had in store for him.


	4. Remday, Rem-Decan 23, ND2018 - It Started With A Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ND 2000. In Kimlasca shall be born one who inherits the power of Lorelei. He will be a boy of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called the Light of the Sacred Flame. And he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity.
> 
> ND 2002. The One Who Would Seize Glory shall destroy the land upon which he was born. A land by the name of Hod. War shall thereafter persist between Kimlasca and Malkuth for a full cycle of seasons.
> 
> ND 2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring people to the miner's city. There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon of Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city. Thereafter, the land of Rugnica will be enveloped in war, and Malkuth shall lose territory. Kimlasca-Lanvaldear shall thrive, and this shall lead to unprecedented prosperity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who were conversing with me via the comments, as I said I wanted to get Luke's childhood out of the way...the last 2 chapters were it. There are no more childhood chapter from this point on.  
> Mainly because the point of those chapters were to give slight foreshadowing and a brief overview of where things stand and Luke's personal feelings.  
> I wanted to end the chapter with Luke meeting Van and to close his chapters of childhood with Van as well, since he is the main problem throughout most of the game.  
> And as stated in the first chapter Luke hates Van because Van took away Asch's chance at living.  
> (P.S Ion's plea in one timeline are actually my own plea's because Sync is adorable, and I just really want him to live...like really badly.)  
> And honestly tell me...who the fuck to you pair Tear with, I mean Luke is no longer an option. And I will not give the slightest hints of Luke/Tear only for it to change to Luke/Jade b/c I was playing the game,  
> *Spoiler Alert*  
> And after St.Binah falls into the Qlipoth and you escort the residents to Yulia City, Senior Field Marshall McGovern tells Luke that Jade only scolds people he likes, I just got the fangirl feels and I saved after that, and stopped playing for the night. (FYI The 3DS is my younger sister's, and the game is my friends, so it's not forever, but with the new PS2 Emulation for PS4, it might be.)  
> Jade is like the one who knows everything about Luke before everything... they are destined to be together, Jade/Luke is life!!! For me at least, if you see it otherwise, it's fine, because that i your opinion.  
> Anywho, this might be a double or triple chapter thing, since I'm working on chapter after chapter consecutively, without rest.

It had been 6 years.

Years that had been like decades to him. Every day was the same cycle over and over again. The only good things he looked forward to were his conversations with Pere, Guy, or Natalia when she visited. And his books, he could have a one-sided conversation where the books would tell him things and he would listen.

Currently, he was finishing a few of the medical journal on healing arts, cross-referencing it with Fomicry methods. Jade's methods were thorough and well detailed, his teacher, Nebilim, had written the medical journal.

'What a coincidence.' he'd thought. 'And sad too, have I really fallen for Jade over a book.' He despaired in his head. That was until Lorelei made his appearance, that's when Luke knew, it was starting. The events of 6 years ago that lead to this point had been completed.

'Tear will be coming today.'

He smiles and continues to read the journal, annotating certain paragraphs, and making a list of books he'll have to get to better understand certain areas. 'Although I doubt I'll have time to read any of it.'

He stretched lazily on his bed and decided today would be a good idea to talk to Pere and enjoy the Manor garden. He walked out of his room greeting Pere, who was watering the flowers.

"Morning Pere!" Luke yelled.

"Ah Master Luke, good morning. Find anything new in those books of yours?" Pere questioned with a smile on his face. Luke's room was a mess, not in the normal way, of clothes being strewn everywhere, but rather there were books of all kinds of topics, notes were on the walls with all kinds of designs that just boggled the servants minds. The Duke and Duchess were fearful, thinking something was wrong with Luke, but Guy reassured them, nothing was wrong with Luke. The redhead had merely become a genius. 

"Well there are certain parts in the medical journals that depict Artes I'd like to practice."  They conversed for several more moments when Luke decided to walk into the manor entrance, like always Ramdas was there. The butler turned to him, "The Order of Lorelei Maestro, Dorian General Van Grants will be arriving soon."

"I see. I will be in my room until further notice," the butler opened his mouth to speak again," And Ramdas, I shall speak to whomever I damn well please, this conversation will go no further than this." Luke left the entrance hall with a feeling of satisfaction. He had just entered his room when Lorelei had decided to make an appearance. 

(Luke...fragment...of my soul...heed...voice.)

Clutching his head in response to the pain, he grimaced at the fact that no matter how many times this happened with Lorelei, he'd always have headaches talking to him.'Asch at least makes it a hell of a lot easier.'

"Luke!! One of those headaches again?" Guy had made his appearance, as he had in every life before. And as always, Luke replied that he was 'Fine.' Never anything else. 

"They're getting more frequent. They started after you were kidnapped by the Malkuth Empire. What's that, seven years now?" Guy asked rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I honestly wish I knew what they did to me, I even have suspicions that it wasn't Malkuth that did this to me. I know we're not privy to any of their inside knowledge, or military info but...could they really have done this to me?" In all honestly, Luke knew exactly who did this to him. It was Van. Vandesdelca Musto Fende was behind the whole thing. how Luke hated him. In his past lives, he'd always killed Van first, but if things were to go smoothly, he'd have to pick his battles, and that meant letting Van go.

Between Van's boring sword lessons, and his Father's lectures, Luke had plenty of free time to himself. He used it to chat up with Guy, Pere, and Natalia when she came to visit. But that still left him with a lot of free time, since Natalia was always in the castle. and Guy and Pere were servants.

So he filled it with reading all sorts of books. So many that his room was a mess. He'd been reading practical books on low-level Fonic Artes, which eventually evolved into high-level Fonic Artes, on par with Jade. He' also began practicing healing artes as well as Hymns, He'd figured he'd make use of his talent and position as a Seventh Fonist.

It got Natalia excited, though since she was also a Seventh Fonist. She brought her tutor over every other day so they could practice together. And the tutor was impressed when Luke had sung a Fonic Hymn. It was only one, though, the first song Tear sang because that was the only one he'd been able to learn.

He'd considered using his Artes to kill Van, Asch had been talking with him when he thought up the idea, they both almost went through with it, until Asch pointed out in order to make sure Van's plans stayed dead along with him, they'd have to wait.

"Well, don't worry about it too much," Guy reassured him,"So, what do you want to do today? How about some sword practice?"

Luke shook his head, "No can do, Master Van is apparently coming over for an impromptu training day." Guy was going to reply when Luke signaled him to leave because a Servant was coming. Guy gave him a thumbs up for good luck and hopped out the way that he came.

That was when one of the maids knocked on the door, to notify him that Vandesdelca, no Master Van had arrived for his sword lessons.

"You can come in Sylvia." Luke said to the maid on the other side of the door, they always sent Sylvia to get him.

"Alright then, Master Luke, your presence is requested in the Drawing Room."

"Thank You. Dismissed." 

* * *

 

Luke walked briskly towards the Drawing Room, his aura gave off a feeling of uneasiness that most of the Servants had come to call his "Concentration". They all assumed he was like that because the Commandant was his teacher. So they left it alone. Oh, if only they knew it was because Van was the true villain in all of this.

The true Villain that he'd smite with a Hyper-Resonance when given the chance.

He calmed his train of thought before he walked in, wouldn't want to worry his parents wearing a maniacal expression on his face.

"You wanted to see me, Father ?" Luke asked as he walked in.

Duke Fabre lifted his head, seemingly drifting back into reality from his musings,"Hmm, Yes Luke, have a seat."

"Mother, Master Van." he greeted as he moved to his seat next to his Mother. Ever since he'd first "come back" to the manor, so to speak, he'd been attached to his Mother like a tumor. Van was a bit suspicious, but upon his first meeting where Luke had been talking and shying away from conversation, (on purpose to throw Van off), he'd left it alone. Chalking it up to his being more comfortable with his 'Mother' than anyone else.

"Well then let's get down to business," Duke Fabre began wanting to get to the point," Dorian General Grants is returning to Daath tomorrow."

"O-oh..." Luke, did his best to make a convincing sad face, "For how long exactly?"

"I can't say for sure. Perhaps it's best that General Grants explain the situation himself." Duke Fabre passed the baton, metaphorically, onto Van, who had no problem taking lead.

"To put it in as few words possible, the Fon Master has gone missing," Van stated blandly. Luke reacted as surprised as possible, "The Fon Master is missing?!"  
"Yes he has, and since our units are spread so thin, I've been called back to help in the search." Van stated," But don't worry Luke, I'll have someone come in to take my place as you tutor. Until then, we'll have to make the most of today."

"Do be careful, he may be 3 years shy of 20, but he's still my baby." Duchess Fabre said, doting on Luke, even more-so ever since he clung to her like a second limb.

 Van chuckled, and Luke nearly twitched to reach for his practice sword that usually was strapped to his lower back, only to twitch towards the empty air. He wanted to punch that grin right off his face, but he held back and excused  himself to go get his practice sword.

When he went into his room, he rummaged under his bed for a small wooden box, with an intricate design on the top, that was actually a Fonic Seal, that only he knew how to open. (And probably Guy too, if the blonde ever found it.)

Opening it he reached for the pouch with an infinite amount of space. The labs of Sheridan and Belkend had come together often a while ago to create things like this. Although they had long since stopped.

The pouch itself held an infinite amount of things, and over the years he'd stored money in it. Enough for 3 trips from Tataroo Valley to Grand Chokmah and back. This would come in handy later. He tucked in the current book he was reading, the theorem book on Fonons, and the medical journal. So he tucked it the inner part of his pants, he was thankful for choosing such a baggy style.

He grabbed his practice sword and walked out of his room,happening upon Van and Guy talking, although he didn't need to be near them to know what they were talking about, and he didn't make any other comment than a quick thank you when Pere had spoken rather loudly.

He didn't make any comment other than the norm when he caught up to Van and Guy.

"Well, I'll let you get to it then." and the blonde moved to sit on the bench to watch.

"Shall we start then, Luke?" Van asked, holding up his sword.

With a smirk, Luke drew his own blade, "Let's."

And he struck, again and again. Throwing around an Arte or 2. Van wasn't very affected, but he was amazed at Luke's increase in speed and strength, compared to last week, it was an astounding growth.

Luke almost grew to feral if not for Tear's Hymn. He was still affected despite, his constant immunity to it.

"That voice...!" Van recognized it.

"A Fonic Hymn..?!" Guy was flabbergasted and confused.

"I finally found you Vandesdelca!" a woman with light brown hair proclaimed, "Prepare to die, traitor!"

Van , still unable to move , could only reply, "Tear I knew it!" 

Luke, however, reacted just as Tear landed the finishing blow, although Luke was tempted to let her. HE was struggling against the weight of not only his own Hyper-Resonance, but the added weight of Tear's own Fonins meshing with his. It felt...invading, disgusting and he hated it!!

"What are you-" Luke managed to push out before he and Tear were whisked away to Tataroo Valley.

 


	5. Remday, Rem-Decan 23, ND 2018- Nighttime in the Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'The girl's name is Tear.  
> She keeps talking about this "Seventh Fonon" and other stuff I don't  
> understand. She's got a pretty face, but a wretched personality. She said  
> she'd take me back to the mansion, so we headed out of the valley.
> 
> There was a coach driver at the valley's entrance. He said he was going to  
> the capital, so we paid the fair with Tear's pendant and got on. Whew...  
> Finally I can relax.'  
> -Original Loop 1, Diary Entry date Remday, Rem-Decan 23, ND 2018
> 
> I woke up in the coach to a huge noise outside. Apparently it was a  
> Malkuth Land Dreadnaught chasing after some thieves called the Dark Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Titles are named after Synopsis Titles. A.K.A Luke's diary entries.

"Luke...Wake up!!" Tear yelled. And as soon as she did Luke's eyes shot open. His head ached, probably a side effect of the Hyper-Resonance.

'Or because of our Fonin's meshing.' He soothed his headache as best as he could, not wanting to rely on his Artes to get it done. He stood up to face Tear who let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Lorelei you're all right. I had worried that we'd gotten caught up in the Planet Storm." Luke nodded, but remained wary, Tear might have changed in this loop, she'd done so before.

"Do you know where we are?" Luke asked his hand waiting to move to his sword should she pull the wrong move. 

"I can't say for sure, but I can say it was a surprise to see that you are also a Seventh Fonist. It would make sense that the Royal Family would be protecting you." Tear stated. 

"I suppose. Maybe we should figure out where we are, I'm Luke, by the way, Luke fon Fabre." He may as well be honest up front, it would serve him better in the long run.

"Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, I'll take responsibility for my actions and get you back home." Tear stated saluting, she sounded remorseful for her course of action. And Luke thought so as well, but attacking the Commandant, sure kudos to her for doing the deed, but still that might spark an international incident with Daath at the center.

"Tear, I'd like to ask that whatever reason you found necessary to attempt an assassination on Van-" Luke was cut off short by rustling in the shrubbery. He drew his sword and Tear drew her knives, it was only a few Filofilia, but Luke decided to prove his worth here, "Cover me!" he yelled, not giving Tear much time to react as she drew the monsters attention away. Which was kinda hard to do, since she had more of a role as a healer or Support Fonist in the group.

Luke charged his Fonons, gathering them all together, "O melody beckoning toward the abyss... Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze ." Luke singing distracted Tear for the barest of moments before she regained her concentration to attack with an Arte of her own, "Shatter, Inlay Nocturne!"

A large crystal, brimming with light, came forth and shattered, ridding the Filofillia into nothing."Right then," Luke began, stretching,"Let's be on our way." He halted in his movement when Tear grabbed his arm, "How did you know that Hymn?"

"I found it in this old tome that was brought to the manor. It was in Ancient Ispanian, there was more underneath it, but it was mostly illegible. There were diverse descriptions on the meanings of each one, though. But it was a shame I was only able to learn one." That was a white lie, Luke learned it from hearing Tear so many times, but there actually was an old tome in the manor, it was Yulia's old journal, and he couldn't decipher mush more than the first Hymn.

"...If possible, upon your return to the Capital, could you let me, at least, look at the book?" Tear didn't have to ask, in fact, she wouldn't even need the book. Luke had memorized most of it, he'd found that with each loop his knowledge and mental capacity was ever increasing.

"You wouldn't need it," he replied freeing himself from her grasp, she looked a bit sullen, he almost didn't want to tell her he memorized it. Almost, "I've memorized it, as we travel to the Capital, I'll transcribe it for you. Consider its payment for accompanying me home."

Tear's spirits seemed to be lifted significantly at the prospect, "Thank you."Luke waved her thanks off, though,"No need, there aren't too many Melodist's around these days, and I have a hunch that you know what most of the Hymns are, I'll be killing 2 birds with 1 stone, handing this info to you." He chuckled walking on through the valley. And all Tear could think, was that this Noble was evil.

 

 

 


	6. Sylphday, Rem-Decan 24, ND 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just like he had planned, they made their way out of the Valley and into the Empire. The coach had rode into Engeve, he met Jade, his strongest Ally, Ion, a replica like him, Anise, the soon to be new Fon Master of the New Order of Lorelei, and his greatest friend that had always stayed loyal to him, Mieu.  
> -Diary Entry Loop 7 ,date Sylphday, Rem-Decan 24, ND 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna stop naming chapter's and just mark 'em by the dates, that way I can cover more ground so to speak. That and the Synopsis is too long for the summary, so I decided against it.

They'd been walking for a better portion of the night. Happening upon the occasional monster or two, making quick work of them. Upon reaching the clearing of the valley, where a small stream cut through, Luke halted their movements. Tear was confused at Luke's actions, that is until he signaled that there was a figure moving behind the bushes.

From behind the bushes came out a man holding a bucket of water, when he glanced at Luke and Tear, he reacted violently,"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Don't take my money, please have mercy Dark Wings!"

Tear blinked in confusion,"Dark Wings?"

"Yes they're bandits-" Luke cut him off,"That consist of 2 men and a woman, we're only 2 people who got lost." Luke wasn't in the mood for a roundabout explanation about who's and what's. "And you are?"

"I'm a coachman, one of the wheels on our coach was acting up and our water jug fell, so we stopped for repairs and refills."

"Then do you mind giving us a lift to the Capital?"

"Sure, that's my last stop, 12,000 Gald a piece." Tear who'd stayed silent until this point spoke up, "That's expensive."

"No worries," Luke bent down, and lifted his pant leg, removing the pouch taped to his leg. Rummaging through it, he counted 24,00 Gald and forked it over to the coachman, "Will this do?"

The coachman accepted the money, and thanked him,"We just need a few more supplies, we'll leave when you guys are ready." Luke smirked, and walked towards the coach, Tear, however, reached out for his arm,"Hey, thank you for paying for me."

"Don't mention it, consider it...and added bonus, for taking it upon yourself to bring me back home." and with that, the conversation was closed.

* * *

The land was crumbling...no it was actually rumbling, shaking to be more accurate. He wasn't having the nightmare of destroying Akzeriuth all over again. But then if he wasn't dreaming, what was going on?

Opening his eyes the sight that greeted him was a coach being chased by the Tartarus. Tear was speaking to the coachman who explained, "Those are the bandits I mistook you for, the Dark Wings, it seems the military is chasing them."

At that time, Luke heard the voice of an old friend who was once his greatest ally, his strongest too. But if he thought about it now, Luke was on par with Jade in this loop.

"You there," he commanded with the air of confidence he always held in himself, "move your coach out of the way if you don't want to get caught in the crossfire. "

* * *

 

Inside the Tartarus, Jade had his hands full dealing with these common thieves.

"Commander! Enemy has crossed Rotelro Bridge! They're putting gunpowder on the bridge!" a soldier reported to him. Adjusting his glasses, he commented,"My, my, they intend to drop the bridge, do they?" A second soldier reported to him,"Fon Slot activation detected!"

"Hmm, we have no choice then, halt Tartarus movements, and activate barriers."

"Yes sir!" the crew replied. With that, the Tartarus came to a shuddering halt, and the bridge exploded, allowing the Dark Wings to make their escape.

* * *

"What was that?" Luke queried aloud, not really asking what the Dreadnought was, but what Jade did, he could've shot the other end of the bridge and sunk the Dark Wings case closed. A bit merciless but still, that would be the end of them and their shenanigans.

"That was the Malkuth Military's newest weapon, the Land Dreadnought, Tartarus, word on the street is that Kimlasca is brewing for war any day now."

Tear was shocked at the revelation, "Malkuth..."Before Luke could let her slip up, he covered for her,"Where are we anyway, as in whereabouts in Malkuth?"

"Well, we're in the West Rugnica Plains, about a mile or two from Engeve. Why?"

"Oh it's just that we had business in Kimlasca, but with the bridge out we'll have to make due in Engeve, before heading over to Kaitzur. Can you drop us off there?"

"No problem."

Tear looked at Luke strangely, that's when he realized he gave away that he knew too much, coming up with a quick lie, he asked, "What?"

"You've told me you were sheltered in your manor, you wouldn't know the geography of the land that well, especially because it's Malkuth." She whispered.

"Well, I did have books in the manor, and they had maps, I may not know where we are just by looking, but if I ask, I can kinda figure out where we are. Anyway since we're still a ways off from Engeve, so let's start our first lesson with those Hymns."

It was a good idea to use that to change the subject, Tear's eyes lit up and she dropped the conversation instead immersing herself in this one instead. They were able to decipher at least 2 Hymns within the coach before they arrived in Engeve.

* * *

 

 The Grocers' Hamlet, Engeve, was a relatively large and bustling town. But that was to be expected seeing as how all the world's food supply was shipped out from here. Luke stretched as he walked, eyeing the vendors produce. The apple vendor, that he always seemed to find eye-catching, came into view again, he was supposed sheltered, so he wouldn't really know how customary transactions would occur.

"Luke," Tear whispered,"Do you want an apple from this vendor?" Luke merely nodded his head, she scrounged up some money from their previous battles in the valley,"Watch me." She went up to the vendor and asked for 2 apples, the vendor held them out for her in one hand and outstretched the other for her to place the Gald. The trade took place and she walked back with both pieces of fruit, holding one out for Luke.

Luke thanked her.To which she replied,"Don't thank me, consider it repayment for teaching me those Hymns. Your memory is quite amazing, you remembered it word per word." He blushed at the comment and focused on chewing the apple, they were both tired, so they searched around for the inn. 

When they finally arrived at the inn entrance, three men were blocking the way, they were actively discussing something.

"Nothing...Every last scrap of food from the storehouse gone." one man stated, he was the inn owner if he could recall correctly, the man's name was Kelly.

"This has been happening all the time and again, since the fire's up North, ya think some deserters came to steal from us?" another stated, hey it was the vendor from the apple stall.

"Or it could be those damned Dark Wings, I heard they were in the area." another said. Luke didn't want to be rude, but he wanted to rest his feet in the inn, so he decided to cut through their conversation.

"Y'know Kelly I heard your place got hit too."

"Sorry to intrude, but could you guys please move away from the entrance of the inn." Luke asked as politely as possible, the 3 men turned to look at Luke suspiciously, why were they doing- Oh no he thought, please don't tell me they're going to-

"Ya know, I heard the Dark Wings consisted of a man and a woman, so you've returned to the scene of the crime huh?!" Kelly grabbed Luke pulling him forward, "That's it I'm taking you to the authorities." Luke knew that both he and Tear could've easily put up a fight, but it was better to keep a low profile here, they were Kimlascan after all. And Luke was nobility.

* * *

"Rose," Kelly called,"We've got a problem!" He shoved Luke forward, Tear following close behind. Tears hands were above her knives, and Luke's arm twitched, at the ready to grab his blade.

"Quiet down!" Rose called," We have an important guest from the military here."

"How can we Rose, this guy's the one stealing all our food. We caught the perp."

"Yea, he's with the Dark Wings."

Luke sighed, Tear following behind but face palming."Y'know,"Luke started,"When you assume you're making an 'ass' out of 'u' or 'me', and here you seem to be the butt of this joke." Tear snickered behind her hand, and their important military guest chuckled.

"Besides," he continued,"The military chased the Dark Wings to the other side of the Rotelro Bridge, the bridge is down and that's why we're here."

"You got any proof of that?" the man accusing him said.

"I can vouch for that," a voice came, their important military guest was none other than Jade,"We did indeed chase the Dark wings to the other side of the bridge."

"Not to mention," Tear's voice chimed in," That the Dark Wings are a group of 2 men and a woman, we're only 2 people."

"You 2 were in the coach heading for Engeve?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces. And who might you be?" Jade looked at Luke expectantly.

"I'm Luke, Luke Lowell." He'd just come up with the name on the spot, Lorelei knew where it came from.

"Tear Fende." So she was falling back on her old family name.

'I see, to clear up any further confusion, my crew and I had chased the Dark Wings into Kimlasca, these 2 were on a separate coach entirely."

Rose chuckled,"It looks like you boys owe these 2 an apology."

"Sorry." They all chorused, hanging their head in shame. Rubbing his nose in embarrassment, he replied," It's no biggie, you guys ship food to all corners of the globe right, it's understandable you guys would be desperate since your own food stores are being raided, but in my own opinion I doubt it's the Dark Wings stealing your food."

"He's right about that." a new voice came, but it was familiar and soothing to Luke's ears, Ion.

"Fon Master Ion," Jade said.

"I was a bit curious and investigated the storehouse, I found this in there." Walking over to Rose, he handed over a ball of fur,"This is from a Sacred Cheagle."

"Yes, a Cheagle is probably what raided your storehouse."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Luke found himself saying, so he decided to finish what he started," I thought Cheagles were herbivores."

Ion nodded, seeming pleased that Luke ha caught that,"Yes, which is why it's so troubling that they'd be sneaking human food."

"Well," Rose stated, clapping her hands, getting the residents of the room attention," I'll find a way to take care of the cheagle problem, I have some things to discuss with the Colonel, so all of you go home for today."

* * *

Finally with that cleared up, the duo made their way back to the inn,"That was really unnecessary." Tear said, irritated at the turn of events.

"You're telling me, all I did was ask for them to kindly move aside, and they automatically assume I'm a thief, did I do anything to make me seem suspicious?" he asked Tear, she shook her head. And the both of them sighed, "I don't care what kind of bed I get, so longs as it is one."

"That makes two of us." Tear replied. 

As they entered the Inn, they saw a small girl in a pink Order uniform with a doll on her back. She was talking to the owner, Anise Tatlin, official Fon Master Guardian of the Order of Lorelei. Of course, he wasn't supposed to know that yet.

"Have you seen the person I was with?! A boy, pretty short? Kind of out of it?" she fired question after question. Luke snickered, the way she described Ion was pretty spot on, but if anyone knew it was the Fon Master she spoke of, well it was funny to think of.

"Sorry, I was away from the inn for a while."

"Honestly, that Ion! Where did he run off to?"

"If you mean Fon Master Ion, he's at Roses house."

Anise turned her head, smile bright on her face,"Really thanks."

And with that, she left.

 

 

 


	7. Sylphday, Rem-Decan 24, ND 2018- The Sacred Cheagle's & The Talking Cheagle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today, they'd meet Mieu, he was excited, not so much at the prospect of having to kill the Liger Queen, but about meeting Mieu. He smiled, it was a small smile though, one Tear wouldn't notice. Jade and he would cross paths as well, then Anise. But first came Ion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This break is like dedicated to this fic, I'll try my best to update my other stories too, I'm just doing this one because I'm just rewriting the whole plot, but making it Jade/Luke instead of Tear/Luke, and Asch is more mature here.

Falling back onto the mattress, Luke wondered, how to bring up that he wanted to go to the Cheagle Woods, without it sounding suspicious...After coming up with nothing he declared to Tear,"Tomorrow we're going to Cheagle Woods." And turned in for the night, missing the look of absolute confusion on Tears face.

She was flabbergasted and confused, there was no reason a noble should want to go to the Cheagle Woods, was Luke some kind of sheltered, do-gooder noble. Well whatever he was, she couldn't argue against his plan at the moment, she was also curious about those woods.

* * *

Upon waking the next morning, they had some breakfast made by the Innkeeper, who turned out to be Kelly, as an apology for the commotion he had caused yesterday, Luke had reassured him that it was a simple mistake anyone could've made, but took him up on his offer anyway, Tear aggreeing to taking the offer as well.(They were starving and desperate.)

After finishing their meal, they decided to ask around town for directions to the Cheagle Woods. Once they received their directions they headed off north.'Mieu, Ion wait for me.' Luke thought walking to the woods.

* * *

The Cheagle Woods were as large as he remembered. Tall towering trees of green, vegetation and flora everywhere, with the occasional monster here and there. And a few liger's darting here and there. Luke just fought them, not caring as to why they were here. Tear made light conversation with him as they walked deeper into the forest. They even had the chance to use two new Hymns.

"Y'know, if this is Cheagle Woods, why haven't we seen a single Cheagle?" he thought aloud, really last time they were here, they saw a Cheagle and followed it to Ion, and then to the Great Tree.

"Well, I do suppose they would be relatively shy creatures." Tear offered looking around herself, she did enjoy cute things, and Mieu would probably be the cutest thing she ever saw.

"Ahh!" Luke knew that scream.

"Hey!" he yelled running in the direction of the voice, Ion wasn't going to use a Daathic Arte on his watch. "Luke, wait!" Tear yelled after him, trying to match his pace but falling short a few feet. Ion was within his range of vision, surrounded by 6 ligers, each growling and readying to attack. Ion turned to look at each of them assessing which Arte he should use. Luke sure as hell wouldn't let him.

"Tear," yelled for the Melodist, she snapped her head in his direction," Hymn, now!" he ordered, she didn't waste a second when she saw the Fon Master.

"O melody beckoning toward the abyss... Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze. " The ligers started to falter in their stance, Luke rushed past Ion, who looked shocked to see him there at all. Drawing a circle on the ground, he lifted his blade and stabbed it into the ground," Guardian Field!" And with that, the Ligers were killed in one fell swoop.

Sheathing his sword he turned to Ion, who stare at him in awe. Tear ran up to them," Fon Master," she called,"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am, thanks to the 2 of you. You two were in Engeve, why are you all the way out here?" Ion asked, his bight green eyes exuding curiosity and a type of determination that would not go away until his questions were answered.

"We're," Tear began searching for the words, they couldn't just tell him, they came because Luke felt like coming. "Here to figure out why the Cheagles were taking food from Engeve," she declared. Luke nodded in agreement.

"Oh, that's great I also came for the same reason, I didn't quite catch you name's back there."

"I'm Luke."

"Luke," Ion echoed,"It means 'light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian, that's a nice name."

"Locrian Sergeant, Tear Grants.1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command." Tear spoke, saluting in respect.

Ion's face lit up in recognition, "Ah you're Van's sister, this is the first we've met isn't it?" Tear nodded, Luke eyed her suspiciously, but turned his head away, just long enough to catch the sight of a Cheagle running away."Hey, you guys can chat over tea and cakes later, there's a Cheagle right there, let's move."

He had to stop because of Tear, though. "How can you think of taking Fon Master Ion somewhere so dangerous?!" She accused.

Luke sighed waving is hand around in an uncaring manner, "It's better this way, he'll just come back if we send him back, besides, you Are a member of the order of Lorelei, between the 2 of us, we should be sufficient enough in protecting the Fon Master. Now if you're done, let's **go**." He put some emphasis on the word go, to get them moving, thankfully it worked.

* * *

They walked further into the woods, Luke leading in the front, sword ready, while Tear held the rear. They happened on one or two monsters, like an Axe Beak, or more ligers. It felt like they'd been walking for a long while, that is until they saw a small pink Cheagle up ahead.

When it saw them it spoke, " Mieu, mieu mieu mieu mieu, mieu!" Before running off in a hurry.

"A Cheagle!"Luke exclaimed. Running off in the direction it came from.

"Wait Luke!' Ion called out, he ran after him Tear following suit, thinking,"It was so cute."

* * *

Reaching the Cheagle's destination, Ion released a tired breath, he saw a few apples lying on the ground, Luke inspecting them, and Tear rubbing soothing circles on his back. He thanked her and picked up another one of the apples, "These have the mark of Engeve on them."

Luke stood up and walked inside, he was too excited an driven to hear the laments of Ion and Tear who followed soon after. Greeted by the whole flock of Cheagles. The were all making cries of anger, the cries still irritated Luke to no end, but these were the cries he associated with Mieu, his most beloved companion. 

"Please, let me through." Ion pleaded with the Cheagles, who paid no heed to him.

"I don't think they understand you, Fon Master." Tear said, observing the cheagles, admiring how adorable they were.

"I thought you guys made a pact with these guys awhile back," Luke said casually, they just needed a little push, they'd find their way.

Ion's eyes lit up, and Luke found it adorable how they did that, and proud for some odd reason."Yes, Yulia made a pact with them, perhaps-" he was cut off by the Cheagle elder," Are you in relation to Yulia Jue?"

"Yes. I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. Am I correct in assuming that you're the cheagle elder?" Ion inquired.

"Indeed, I am." answered the Cheagle Elder.

Luke bent down to eye level, planting himself comfortably on the ground, "Hey, Elder, are you the ones stealing Engeve's food?" Tear scolded Luke, but he paid her no heed. He just wanted to cut straight to the chase.

"I see, so you've come to extermi-"

"Hold it," Luke said, raising his hand in a halting manner,"No one said anything about extermination, we just wanna know why."

Tear picked up from there, "It is as he says, Cheagles are herbivores, so there should be no reason for you to steal from Engeve's stores."

"Not only that but there seems to be plenty of vegetation in the forest, surely it's sufficient enough to feed all of you." Ion said. The Cheagle Elder sighed, "One of our members caused a fire in the northern region. As a result, the ligers that lived there moved down to this forest. ...In order to prey on us." 

"Then, the reason you stole the food was so your people wouldn't be eaten." Ion surmised.

"...Correct." the Elder nodded in confirmation, "If they aren't sent food periodically, we cheagles are captured and eaten."

Ion gasped,"That's horrible." And under her breath, Tear whispered,"Poor things." 'No sit, Sherlock.' Luke thought.

"So, since we're already here, may as well do something about their liger problem," Luke said, standing up and dusting his clothes. Tear looked at him, questioning and defiant," And what exactly do you intend to do, we can't exactly just fight all the liger's."

"No, but we could negotiate with them," Ion offered, turning to the cheagle Elder he asked,"Could you send someone with us as an interpreter?"

The Elder cheagle nodded," ...Then, I shall lend this sorcerer's ring to the one who will be your interpreter."

Turning to the mass of cheagle's surrounding them the Elder spoke,"Mieu, mieu mieu mieu mieuuu." Luke was giddy with excitement, this was the exact moment, out from the crowd, came a light blue cheagle, it was small, a child. And Luke's heart warmed, it was Mieu.

" This child," the Elder gestured to the baby cheagle, "is the one who caused the fire in the north. I want you to take him with you." Handing off  the Sorcerer's Ring to the child, he fit it over his head and around it's round body. The baby cheagle floated its way over to Luke and the others, and introduced itself,"My name's Mieu. Pleased to meet you."

Luke wrapped his hands around Mieu and lifted him above his head, smiling he replied,"Luke, it's a pleasure."

* * *

 

Luke had been on cloud nine since Mieu's addition to the party. The tiny cheagle talked on and on, providing plenty to talk about, Mieu made himself comfy atop Luke's head, commenting," Master, your hair is so soft and fluffy!!" Luke laughed,"Thanks, your fur's pretty soft too, hey Tear, catch!"

He tossed Mieu to Tear, who caught him and hugged him tightly,"You're so cute." She thought she was being quiet ,but  Luke heard her. He snickered, and Tear blushed bright red into Mieu's fur, the little cheagle oblivious, and the Fon Master...well the Fon Master was aware of what was happening despite his seemingly oblivious appearance, he was just happy they were getting along.

* * *

 

As they delved deeper into the woods, they eventually came upon the entrance to the Liger Queen's lair. It was underground, they had to cut down several strains of roots, to get further in, and if the increase in liger's were anything to go by, they were expected.

Reaching the entrance they saw the Queen, in all her glory, sleeping upon a nest of eggs.

"That must be the Queen," Ion whispered. Luke set Mieu down on the ground, relinquishing him from Tear's grasp,"Okay Mieu," he said,"Do your thing."

"Yes, sir." the cheagle said,"Mieu, mieuu, mieu mieu...." The Liger Queen arose, and let out a thunderous roar, it shook the underground cavern, so much so, that the ceiling nearly came crashing down,  a loose boulder nearly fell on Mieu, if it weren't for Luke, the cheagle probably would've died on the spot.

"Mieu, thank you." Mieu cooed. Luke waved it off, the cheagle had done so much for him in his previous loops, this wasn't even close to a complete thanks.

"What'd she say Mieu?" Ion asked.  Luke turned to Ion, not completely facing away from the Liger Queen, but enough that he could see someone by the entrance, that silhouette was vaguely familiar.

"She says she's going to kill us and feed us to her children."Luke recalled that Jade's appearance here, in the middle of battle, was a bit too lucky, looks like the damn bastard had watched from the sidelines before intervening, Luke grit his teeth, a bit angry at the Necromancer.

"She's approaching, Luke-!" Luke smirked, fine if the damn Necromancer wasn't going to intervene he would take care of it in one fell swoop.

"Tear, cover me, like in the valley!" he ordered, Tear jerked at the order, but nodded, throwing knives at the Liger Queen, drawing her attention away from Luke, the Fon Master, and Mieu.

Luke held out his sword to act as the medium for this high-level spell, he breathed in and began the  chant,"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens," he felt the fonons running wild around him,"command thee, who opens the gates of hell," he held the image of the Arte in his mind," come forth divine lightning!" he raised his blade, "This ends now!" stabbing it into the ground, he called forth the Arte, "Indignation!"

And just like that, a white light spilled forth from above, as if from the heavens, and struck the Liger Queen down. The Liger Queen spasmed from the shock but lay still soon after, dead. Luke let out a breath of relief, he wanted to rest, so he plopped on the ground, happy that he was able to fully use the Arte he'd seen Jade use so many time's with ease.

"Wow, Luke! That was amazing! Where did you learn such a powerful Arte, I've only ever seen Jade use that Arte." Ion gushed, he was amazed and in awe, Mieu was also just as amazed, if not more.

Tear was over by the Liger nest destroying the eggs, she joined in on the conversation with suspicions of her own, "Y'know, not many people your age are able to pull off high-level Artes like that, and don't tell me you learned them from a book as well."

"Well, FYI, Tear Fende," Luke said, a bit of sass in his voice," I did learn it from a book, and I've been practicing Artes like that for the past 7 years." He turned his head in Jade's general direction and called," Well, are you just gonna stand there and look pretty, or are you gonna properly introduce yourself, although I already know who you are."

Luke may have only called out to one person, but that was because  Jade had already sent person 2 off.

All heads turned in the direction Luke called to, and Jade stepped out, his arms shrugging,"My my, it seems you've caught me."

"Colonel Curtiss." Tear called surprised.

Jade held up his hand, in rejection,"Please call me Jade, I'm afraid I'm not accustomed to being called by my family name."

Ion immediately apologized,"...Jade, I'm sorry for running off and doing this."

Jade turned to Ion, seemingly scrutinizing him," It's unlike you to do something like this when you know it's wrong."

"Together with Yulia, the cheagles are the foundation of the Order of Lorelei. I felt I had to take responsibility for any trouble they had caused..." Ion was twiddling his thumbs, his cheeks dusted a light pink, his eyes made him look like a kicked puppy, adding onto the fact that he was hanging his head in shame.

"It's good that you didn't use your power, but you involved civilians." Luke was growing angry with Jade, he recalled that Jade only scolded the people he liked, but this wasn't really scolding. So he felt it necessary to take a jab at Jade, "Hey Balfour, lay off will you," Tear looked a bit miffed at his blatant display of disrespect, "he said he's sorry, besides we came to the forest of our own accord. Ion was here to, and on his own, so we took it upon ourselves to act as his guards."

Finishing Luke met Jade's eyes, which flashed a bit pf anger that didn't deter Luke one bit. Jade spoke, his tone cold," As I said before it's just Jade, and you will not address me otherwise."

It was a childish move, calling Jade that move, but he could've sworn he saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. Or maybe that was a trick of the light reflecting from his glasses. But there wasn't any light streaming down here, and what light there was were minuscule streams. 

"Whatever, Jade." Luke figured that was enough prodding for now.

Jade adjusted his glasses,"Well, we don't have much time, anyway. I'll stop the lecture at that."

Ion's face lit up with recognition,"The letter arrived didn't it."

"Yes. Now let's go ahead and get out of this forest." Jade said, taking the lead only to be stopped by Ion.

"Please Jade, we must stop by the cheagles home first."

Jade let out a tired sigh,"If you insist."

* * *

Luke and Mieu continued to hold their conversations, and Ion asked Luke all sorts of questions about his Artes.Jade himself was curious, but he left his curiosity at that. pure curiosity. He had a number of questions about other things though, this boy seemed to know a lot about his past life, it seemed, he didn't seem intent on hiding it though.

They reached the great Tree and returned to report the eradication of the Liger Nest. Watching Mieu and the Elder converse was an amusing sight. Ion and Luke watched quietly, Tear was blushing madly from the sheer amount of cuteness. And Jade, was merely amused,"It's quite amusing watching monsters communicate."

"Mieu has told me what happened. You met with great danger on our behalf, and we are grateful that 2000 years later, you've kept your promise."

"Of course. Aiding the cheagles is part of Yulia's teaching." Ion said.

"But the original cause of all this was Mieu burning the ligers' home." The Elder sounded grim," So I will have Mieu atone for his mistake."

"What are you going to do?" Tear was a ta worried.

"I will exile Mieu from our tribe." the Elder declared without remorse.

"That's too cruel." Ion admonished.

"Naturally, I don't mean forever. I hear that Master Luke saved Mieu's life. Cheagles do not forget their debts. Mieu will serve Master Luke for one cycle of seasons." Th Elder rectified his statement, seeing that the humans didn't understand him.

Luke smiled, and bowed slightly,"I'd be happy to take Meiu along." The Cheagle Elder seemed to smile. And with that, case closed.

* * *

As they reached the entrance of the woods, Luke noticed Anise, he glanced back at Jade, and sighed, heavily enough that the Necromancer took notice.

"Well now Luke, don't tell me you're tired," Jade said in mock accusation.

"No, I'm just a bit upset that you sent a child to so your work, really Balfour, you're not that old." Jade's smile fell a bit, and he briskly walked ahead, ignoring Anise's report.

"Restrain those two. They're the ones who've been emitting the Seventh Fonons," he turned away. Ion running after him.

"Ion!" Luke called,"Don't worry, take it easy, I can see that you're tired." Ion visibly flinched but nodded. Luke turned to Tear, who looked at him, they nodded to another and complied as they were led off into the Tartarus, leaving the Cheagle woods behind.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I do a christmas Special...like in the far off future(I.E end of the month.) Or a New Years Special....or both. Comment below.


	8. Sylphday, Rem-Decan 24, ND 2018-The Tartarus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okey-dokey-lokey, so it seems I'm going to be doing the whole fic, synopsis chapter by synopsis chapter, which if, calculated correctly, means....this fic will have at least 114 chapters in total...I'll make it 120, adding epilogue's and additional extensions of chapters.......Yeah...I'm in this for the long haul.

Luke stared down deep pools of red wine, that were glancing between him and the book in his hands. Jade had the Malkuth Officers give them both a thorough pat down, they only found Tear's necklace on her, which she vehemently grabbed, clearly miffed that they'd even touch it, and sadly they'd found Luke's pouch filled with his emergency fund and few books.

Jade had taken the liberty of personally looking through both books, and Luke found himself blushing red when Jade picked up the book written by him first.Jade raised an eyebrow suspiciously, probably thinking it was a cover for something more dirty, (when in actuality it was just a lot of annotations by Luke). Jade flipped through it, quickly skimming the pages, he opened up the medical journal next, seemingly cross-referencing it with the journal. He ordered the Officers to escort both Luke and Tear to a separate room. 

 His eyes were growing narrower and narrower with each passing minute, until he ultimately chose to close the book, favoring interrogation instead of blackmail. (Though there was none to speak of.)

* * *

Anise had finally decided to join them, and with that Jade ran through the charges they were guilty of. Luke and Tear sat in relaxed positions in their seat, Mieu on the table, the cheagles' big blue eyes switching between the pair in their seats and the pair standing up.

"The Seventh Fonon hyper-resonance came from the direction of the capital of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and converged inside Malkuth territory near Tataroo Valley. Now, if you two were the source of that hyper-resonance, that would make you guilty of illegally crossing the border into our country, wouldn't it?"Jade accused, pointedly looking at Luke, even though he was talking to the both of them.

"Yes," Luke drawled annoyed and bored," Jeez, you're obnoxious Balfour." Anise giggled at that, but Jade was clearly unamused."He called you obnoxious!" Anise snickered, enjoying how what Luke said, seemed to get under Jade's skin.

Jade didn't respond other than pushing his glasses back up. He had a hidden anger behind those irises, Luke noted, but the Colonel wouldn't dare express that anger until they were utterly alone. "Either way, it is necessary that we know your identities, Tear I've already ascertained that you are part of the Oracle Knights, but what of your mystery companion." 

Jade shifted the focus to Luke, putting him under pressure, Luke sat up straight, delivering his answer as politely as possible," I'll introduce myself, however, understand that the hyper-resonance we are guilty of was in no way an act of aggression against Malkuth. With that settled, my full name is Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre."

There was evident shock written on the faces of the inhabitants of the room, excluding Tear who already knew, "Duke Fabre, who married into the Kimlascan Royal family?"Jade asked for confirmation.

"Do you know any other Duke Fabre's?" Luke snarked, he honestly was sick of this part, mainly because this interrogation was long tedious and annoying. Jade grimaced again, his mouth pulled into a straight line.

Tear could sense the pressure in the room, another remark from Luke could result in a fight, and right now they wanted to avoid that. "So, Quid Pro Quo, Colonel, we've given you information, now you do the same, may I ask what the point is in taking a Kimlascan Heir ?" She was confused by the Colonel's actions, but she wasn't in much of a position to negotiate, nonetheless, Jade switched his attention from Luke to Tear. 

He didn't say anything rather it was Ion who broke the silence, although he wasn't in the room so he busted in through the door,(more like just slammed it open.)

"I'm on a mission as an emissary of peace! Jade won't tell you so I will, Anise shush, The Emperor Peony the IX asked me to deliver this letter to King Ingobert the VI. Please, Jade, he can help!" Luke stared shocked at Ion's unusual assertiveness, he looked like a pouting little kid, though. 

He whispered to Tear,"If he wasn't the Fon Master."

"I know," she whispered back.Angry Ion was adorable Ion. Jade smirked shrugging his shoulders," Well I was going to do that eventually, but it seemed you jumped the gun Ion." Ion blushed madly, burying his face in his hands. Anise was glaring at the Colonel now, mumbling all kinds of profane language under her breath, Luke nearly laughed at some of them.

"I'll release you now,I 'll grant you permission to enter any area you wish, apart from those containing military secrets." He snapped his fingers and the fonic shackles around their wrists dissipated,"Please consider helping us-"

"I'd have helped you either which way, if war does happen, both sides lose something." Luke said, taking hold of Mieu and petting his head, which Mieu seemed to enjoy. Jade was a bit taken aback by his statement, but he continued his stride with relative ease. "Small, localized conflicts have broken out recently. It's likely those will soon escalate into full-scale war. After all, the truce for the Hod War is only 15 years old." He explained.

"Emperor Peony has written a letter proposing a formal peace treaty. They requested my aid as a neutral ambassador." Ion added, explaining why he was away from Daath.

"With all due respect, that great, but if that's the case, then why do people think you've gone missing? " Luke asked. He didn't want to just accept the fact that Ion left the order, it would look too suspicious.

"That's due to matters within the Order." Ion explained solemnly. 

"Within the Order?" Tear echoed, she didn't understand what happened at HQ that would force Ion to leave Daath.

"A conflict is unfolding between the reformist Fon Master faction, centered around Ion, and the conservative Grand Maestro faction, centered around Grand Maestro Mohs." Jade elaborated. He was rather apathetic about the whole situation.

"Mohs is looking for a war." Ion stated fist balled in anger, "I managed to escape from Mohs' custody with the help of the Malkuth military." Tear stood up abruptly, jostling the table Mieu was on, the tiny cheagle nearly fell over if not for the power of the Sorcerers Ring, he would've hit his head. The tiny cheagle let out a breath of relief and slowly floated back up.

"Fon Master Ion! There must be some mistake. Grand Maestro Mohs would never desire such a thing. Mohs prays only for the fulfillment of the Score!" Tear said Luke didn't like the fact that she was so devoted to Mohs in the beginning, but it was good that she still held his actions morally wrong.

"Tear, you're with the Grand Maestro faction? No way..." Anise said in disbelief.

Tear looked angry at the thought, replying," I'm neutral." 

"You didn't sound very neutral." Luke murmured. Tear glared at him and sat back down.

"Regardless of loyalties, this letter needs to reach King Ingobert." Ion said, brushing aside the matter before. He eyed Tear wearily, though.

"But we're the soldiers of an enemy nation. Even as emissaries of peace, it won't be easy for us to cross the border. If we delay, the Grand Maestro faction will catch up with us and interfere. That is why we need your help...," Jade thought about that for a moment, and admitted, "Well, really, we just need your social status."

Luke sighed,"My social status might not be enough. Last I heard from my servant, Mohs was talking about starting war with Malkuth. Although he wasn't able to get much before he was nearly discovered."

"This is troubling, still, though, do you think you could find a way to appeal to your Uncle?" Jade asked. Luke thought for a moment, was there a way to properly appeal to his Uncle so that Mohs no longer held his attention.

"There might be a way, but when we get to Baticul we'd have to get to my manor first."

"Your manor, do you mean to exploit the King's weakness, Luke?" Tear asked, although by the look in her eye she didn't seem to mind.

Luke nodded,"It's a bit underhanded, but if I appeal to my parents first, and explain the situation to them, my mother may personally talk to my Uncle, he's been known to favor my Mother and his daughter's opinions over others."

"Wow Luke, didn't think you were so sneaky that you'd use your own Mother like that." Anise snarked.

Luke shrugged, smirking,"I do what I can."

Ion clasped his hand together and bowed,"Thank you so much Luke!" Luke flustered, returned his thanks, and pleaded with Ion to stand up. Jade watched the entire scene unfold before him with uncaring eyes, he retrieved the books that he'd confiscated from Luke, placing them on the table. Before turning to take his leave,"Well then, I have other matters to attend to, Anise I leave Ion in your capable hands."

"Boooo, you make it sound like I'm not good at my job Colonel." she whined, sticking out her tongue. 'Well, you don't exactly look reliable.' Luke thought, 'Although your doll can really pack a punch.' Jade left it at that, not responding to Anise's comment. Rising from his seat, Mieu floated to the top of Luke's head, "Master, are you gonna explore now?" Luke was tucking away his books in the pouch, and smiled at Mieu,"Yeah, sure, why not? I need a breather anyway."

Tear re-equipped her knives and retrieved her spear. And the group moved to the hallway outside.

* * *

Ion left to go to his room, in need of some privacy. Anise allowed him to go on his own, the room wasn't that far down the hall. They met up with Jade, and before he could even begin to make a sarcastic comment, the entirety of the Tartarus shook, the alarm going into a frenzy.

"Are we under attack!" Tear exclaimed. "Oh no! Luke what should we do?" Luke ignored her, instead laying a hand on his sword, senses on edge. Largo would be coming from down that hall and with him a Fon Slot Seal. Mieu was still on his head, he whispered to the cheagle,"Mieu when I give the signal I want you to throw some fire on that fon stone in the ceiling." The cheagle nodded, at the ready to spit fire.

Jade was busy contacting the bridge. "Bridge! What's going on?"

"A large flock of griffins 20 kilometers ahead! Total number unknown! Contact in approximately 10 minutes! Commander, requesting permission to open fire with all cannons." responded the soldier.

Jade merely said,"You're the captain, the ship is yours."

"Understood, Sir!"

The still heard the feed of the battle through the communication device. "Large swarm of monsters 20 kilometers ahead. All hands, battle stations! Repeat! All hands, battle stations!" Jade pinched the bridge of his nose, "You three return to your rooms."

"And leave Ion alone out there, no way!" Luke responded.

"We can't tell what's going on, monster don't usually work together in such large numbers", Tear looked confused,"What do you mean he's in his room, why wouldn't he be-" The Tartarus lurched.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked.

"Ligers are dropping from the griffins! They're clinging to the hull and attacking! Engineering is--Uaaah!" they heard the soldier screams die out. Anise ran past them, probably going to get Ion, however, she wasn't quick enough as Largo came into view. Luke was quicker, however, and repelled Largo's large scythe,"Well what are you waiting for, you were going to get Ion weren't you?!" Anise shook herself out of shock, muttered a quick thank you and bypassed Largo.

"I trust you know where to go?" he called after her. "Yeah!" she replied, knocking to the soldier's behind Largo down. Luke was close enough to whisper something to Largo, that Jade wouldn't hear. "Badaq, are you really sure you want to go through with this?" Largo's eye's widened, and his expression darkened, and with a howl, he continued his barrage. Luke was attacking at every turn and succeeding. That is until a fireball whipped past him, that would've gravely injured Largo if the God-General hadn't blocked it.

Largo's attention switched to Jade,"...Impressive. But it's time for you to calm down. Now. Colonel Jade Curtiss, Commander of the Third Division of the Malkuth Imperial Forces...Or maybe just, 'Jade the Necromancer'."

Tear was shocked at his statement and stared at the back of the general,"The Necromancer!You...?!"

Jade shrugged his shoulders,"Well, well, it looks like I'm famous." Luke snorted at that and watched the cheagle steadily come down from his hair, to stand behind the Colonel, in direct view of the Fon Stone. Jade gave him a look but said nothing.

"Rumors have spread far and wide--how you scavenge corpses after every battle." Largo said in a grave voice. Jade smirked,"Oh, but my stories have nothing on yours, sir. 'Largo the Black Lion.' One of the Six God-Generals of the Oracle Knights." Jade held no respect for them it was obvious, but Luke snorted at that, wondering if they'd be christened as the "Jade Gang" later or earlier. And again Jade gave him a look that sent shivers down his spine.

"Heh..." Largo laughed, he'd thought about calling him Badaq just to get on his nerves, but that plan wouldn't go over well with Jade here, "I've been waiting for a chance to cross blades with you, but, unfortunately, right now I must retrieve Fon Master Ion." The God-General actually looked a tad upset.

Jade decided to drop all formalities,"I can't allow that."

"Jade the Necromancer... Letting you go now will only mean trouble later." Largo said, Luke looked back at Mieu, who caught Luke's gaze, the tiny cheagle readied himself, absorbing all the fonons around them,"Do you think you can kill me by yourself?" Jade asked, confidant in his abilities.

Largo smirked, revealing the Fon Slot Seal,"I can if I seal your Fonic Artes, I was saving this for Ion, but looks like I'll have to was-"

"Mieu now!!" Luke yelled charging forward, the tiny cheagle wasted no time, the Fon Stone blew bright, temporarily blinding Largo, Luke used that opening to land a barrage of attacks on Largo.Although he was temporarily blinded, unable to properly see, the God-General kept pace with him. In the back of his mind he felt Asch call for him, he brushed back lightly, letting Asch know he was a bit busy.

He could hear Tear chanting her Nightmare Arte, at that moment Largo pushed back with a powerful attack, Luke was lucky the metal toothpick he called a sword didn't bend or break. And his efforts were for nothing the Fon Slot seal still reached the Colonel anyway.

Tear had finally casted her Arte and Largo staggered giving Jade an opening to cut through which he did. Jade gave Luke a once over, thought against what he wanted to say, and instead said,"We're re-taking the Tartarus." 

"But your Artes-!" Tear protested.

"You needn't worry, my Artes may be sealed, but I'm sure Luke knows many of the ones I know, and between your Hymns, his sword skills, and my powerful yet limited Artes, we should be able to make due." Jade said. Luke looked away," Sorry I wasn't quick enough."

"My.my! The son of a Duke apologizing to a lowly -!"

"If you have the time to mock me, you have the time to move you ass, besides old man, you moved pretty quick back there." Luke smirked as he took lead, he'd been on the Tartarus a few times, but the thing had such a redundant design to it, everything looked the same, so he headed for the staircase, looking back to see Tear and Jade racing after him, well Tear was racing Jade was taking his sweet time.

Once they were all together, they moved forward, through the bridge and into the main deck.

* * *

Tear had knocked out the Oracle Knight standing watch, Jade, and Luke both turned to him, Luke paid no heed and leaned against the wall opting to stand watch with Mieu. The cheagle lay atop his head, snuggling in Luke rather bouncy hair. He felt bad he'd eventually cut it. Jade didn't give a second glance and walked into the control room, Tear following behind him. 

"Hey Meiu, keep an eye out will you?"

"Okay Master!" the cheagle replied with delight. Luke closed his yes and brushed against Asch's possible Pyshe. He found that over the years he'd been able to do things with his Hyper-Resonance, that no one would ever know about.

At least not for a couple thousand years. He could push people to a certain extent so long as they weren't Seventh Fonists, or had powerful mind barriers. Jade couldn't be pushed far, but Luke could probably make use of his ability to tease the old man.

<...Dreck, what happened back there?>

/Largo attacked...he was looking for Ion, I suppose you're under orders to find him./

<Yes...though if I had a choice in the matter...>

/You'd be at Shurrey Hill...But Asch, you have the promise to fulfill...make sure to play your part./

<Argh!! Fine whatever!!>

Opening his eyes, he found the guard waking up, Luke waste's no time, drawing his blade, he await's the Oracle Knights movement. The Knight races forward, and is cut down with a single strike, Luke looms over the body, he lets out a disappointing sigh, the guard was getting easier to kill with each life, if and when he let it play out.

"Luke, we heard something, what-!"Tear looked at the dead guard then back at Luke who was holding Mieu in his arms. The tiny cheagle was oblivious, and floated up to Luke's shoulder, nuzzling his face.

Jade witnessed everything and somehow, and he felt this intense presence in his mind, a tingling sensation that had annoyed him his whole life. It was whispering things to him about Luke, however, and Tear, they were like him, or would be. Jade pushed it back to where it always was, just in time to dodge and ice, however, as not as lucky, dodge the icicle he may have,but his assailant he did not.

Jade looked at him, and narrowed his eyes, Luke went down far too easy. "Necromancer, just follow us and neither you or your companions will be harmed." Tear's eyes darted between Luke and Jade and their mysterious attacker, she sighed putting a hand to her head in annoyance, Jade pinched the bridge of his nose, but complied.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys want a Christmas Special for this...I will try my hand at smut and see what I get...but no promises it'll be good smut, I can try, but I'm unsure. But I can promise that it will be smut, I just want to hear what you guys want for the Christmas AU.....please comment, I enjoy hearing you guys.


	9. Loreleiday, Rem-Decan 25, ND 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I suppose is as good a time as any to introduce myself, this is the creator speaking mid-story...well actually before I write out the rest of this to give you a little bit of insight into my insanity...that's a lot of in's.
> 
> Anywho, getting back on topic, Aggregate Sentience's are collections of that certain type of Fonon. That being said, one can assume the other 6 would have someone who is on the direct Fonon frequency as them, keep in mind each loop is different...Eh? Why explain this here and not in the notes?
> 
> Hahahahahahahahahah!!!Heheheheheh!!!!!!!Kyahahahahahah!!!!!!! Because silly, how would I know exactly what was going on within the minds of these here characters, I am and Omniscient Overseer...we'll just call me Overseer when I feel the creator is being unclear about shit ...I mean something, I'll but in and clarify.
> 
> Keeping in mind that each loop is different and has its own consequences, this is the 7th loop for the Luke born in the Era of Kimlasca-Malkuth, millennia in the future, so because he's the rebirth of this time period he doesn't remember being reborn over 100 times.
> 
> ...Yea, creator is cruel like that, anyway, Luke couldn't have gotten to the past with Lorelei's help alone, he must have relied on something other than his own power, which would be the other sentience's, through Luke and Asch's manifestation of Lorelei, Lorelei then manifested into an Aggregate Sentience, the other's had already been separated into particle's and became the Fono'ns within everything.
> 
> But if that was the case, how did Lorelei continue to communicate with Luke? So here we can assume a bit that somehow Luke maintain's a stable bond with Luke, now if Lorelei can tether with Luke, while being in spread Fonon's couldn't the others do the same, but then who would they tether with. 
> 
> Well, Luke isn't an option since Lorelei called dibs, so that leaves 5 others plus 1, which is Asch. I- I mean the creator of this story has big plans for many people. So with that out of the- I see my master is calling for me, can't keep the douche- I mean Lorelei waiting.

 

 

_(Luke...Heed...my voice...! Luke...!)_

Oh, how he hated the sound of Lorelei's voice. Over the course of many loops, he'd found that aggregate sentience's, like Lorelei, will often choose a human vessel to communicate to in times of need, of course most of this was pulled from the hidden prophecy within Yulia's journal.

Decrypting it was by now means any easy feat, she used a mixture of old Fonic lettering, Ancient Ispanian, and some weird writings called "English" and "Kanji", he'd had Lorelei explain it all to him, turns out in the far off future, these are one of the many languages used for reading and writing. Luke was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but he had better things to worry about in his own time period, leaving that for the generation of that time period.

Like the fact that his head was aching, and the sound of Tear shouting for him to wake up wasn't making it any better.

"Luke!" she called, Luke eyes slowly opened, and he sat up clutching his aching head. She breathed out a sigh of relief," Thank Goodness, you were out cold, and hurt pretty badly."

Luke was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes," Did you, at least, get the guy that hit me?" Tear looked away, Jade was standing by the bars of the cell, he glanced at Luke, and turned back to his original position. "Luke, are you aware of what happened back there?" Mieu who'd been standing by the Colonel, floated back to Luke, nuzzling his fur into Luke's face. Luke shrugged his shoulders, "I have a vague idea of sorts." Jade was suspecting him, he went down far too easily. Jade briskly walked over to Luke and roughly grabbed gripped his face, forcing the young Fabre to look him in the eyes.

Jade searched for any sign of deception, and secrets that Luke could be hiding, finding none he releases him. Walking back to the cell bars, he threw out an object that blinded the whole room, and destroyed the bars, he walked over to the communication unit and spoke,"By my name as Necromancer, heed my command.Initiate emergency plan, 'Corpse Hunt.'"

The Tartarus shuddered to a stop, and lights shut off. Jade would have explained what that was by now, but it seemed he was a bit upset about Luke. He walked briskly to a room near their holding cell, opening it not waiting for them to follow. Luke looked at Tear, who merely shrugged her shoulders, she was as confused as he was.

"Aren't you going to get your weapons?" Jade asked as he walked out testing his spear before returning it to its place in Fonon particles around his glove. Luke walked past Jade, glancing at his form from the corner of his eye, Jade returned his look. Jade was definitely suspicious, but he still hadn't gathered enough info to properly prove anything. So he left it at that. 

Tear tucked away her knives in their proper place, and lifted her spear, giving it a test swing. Luke searched for his sword, unable to find it. It wasn't that big a deal, but it held sentimental value. Guy had saved up many months of wages to buy it for him, he couldn't have just lost it. "Luke, if you can't find your sword, just find a new one." Tear said, looking at her, he could see that she held a vague understanding of why he was still looking for the sword.

Like her necklace, it was from someone dear to them. Luke sighed, but caved in and grabbed a random sword. He was a bit miffed that his sword wasn't there, but there was nothing that could be done about that. Jade was still taking the lead, still a bit upset, he led them to a separate room, only this one was filled with boxes. He looked at Luke, and tilted his head, Luke pouted a bit, and he could see Jade look visibly taken aback.(Although he quickly masked it, which was even more annoying.)

"Colonel,"Tear began,"Why are we here?"

"Well, we need to reach Ion. But, if the Tartarus' power is down, we can't use the elevator, there should be something in the back here, that should allow us access to where we want to go." Jade smiled as he explained. He glanced at Luke, and gave him the exact same smile, Luke glared back, pouted again, and brushed past Tear muttering all sorts of things under his breath, in Ancient Ispanian.

He felt a chill go up his spine, and from the corner of his eye, he saw both Tear and Jade staring after him. Tear in surprise that he offered to move the boxes around without any prompting, and Jade, well for all the old man's suspicion, he certainly held different priorities depending on the situation. Stopping in his actions, Luke smiled impishly and called back,"You should take a picture, it lasts longer."

Tear blushed, as if she was the one being inappropriate, Jade, however, smirked back, his eye's glinting mischievously, "Well I would, but I'm afraid I don't carry one on me at all times."Luke harrumphed and turned back to his previous actions.Moving the boxes and cursing the crap out of Jade and his ass.

Tear couldn't be bothered by this, she was too busy trying to guess what it was exactly that was behind all the crates. Luke moved things around, trying to get to the crate of Gunpowder in the back. Finally reaching it, Luke called back," Hey, Old Man, is this what we're looking for?!" Jade rounded the corner, Mieu in his arms, who looked ready to fire, Luke jumped out of the way, the only way out was over the other crate, so he jumped and landed in front of Tear.  _  
_

The Sergeant let out a small squeak that had Luke looking at her weird. He ignored it, however, in favor of glaring at Jade who tossed Mieu in his direction while admiring his handiwork,"Let's be on our way then." He smiled as he walked through the opening in the wall.

"I hope he breaks something." Tear muttered, Luke nodded in agreement,"Using Mieu like that, what's that old man thinking." Regardless they walked out the very opening Jade created, seeing that he was standing right by the entrance. They walked a bit further finally reaching the port hatch, Jade peeked out the window discreetly," It looks like we made it in time. There they are."

Luke peeked out from a separate window, his bright hair was a bit obvious, but he wanted to confirm things within his own body. "Have they realized the Tartarus did an emergency shutdown?" he whispered. Jade shook his head in response and signaled Luke over to the port hatch.

"Seeing as how you're the only one who has high enough Artes, I'm counting on you to do most of the heavy lifting." Jade disregarded any suspicion he held on Luke, but this was his chance to erase any and all suspicion. (Although he honestly doubted that would happen, by this point Jade had suspected that Luke MAY have been a replica. The Trip to Choral Castle only further proved his theory.)

"They heard footsteps outside of the Hatch,"At the Ready!" Jade loudly whispered.

"Open the Hatch!"

* * *

Luke struck with quick force, and brutal strength,he took down three Oracle Knights, as they were falling, he used them as a boost jumping high before landing in the ground shouting,"Lightning Tiger Blade!" A few of the guards were knocked back, staggering but still standing. They all rushed in, and so did a flash of yellow he quickly identified as Legretta.

"Tear!" Jade called from his position, trying to get to Ion,"Water Fon Field,  to Fabre!" She nodded and invoked a Water Fon Field around Luke.

She wasn't called Legretta the Quick for nothing. He pushed her back, blocking a heel kick, and a few stray bullets. She was pushed back, giving Luke enough time to pull through with an Arte. Drawing a circle around himself, he stabbed his sword into the ground, invoking the FOF change needed for his Arte, "Guardian Frost!" Icicles shot forth from the ground capturing the soldiers in his immediate vicinity, and then lifting his blade from the ground, the ice shattered. 

Legretta had not been caught in the Arte, but she had a quick brush with death, that Arte could have killed her or have her mortally wounded, what good would she be to Van then. She felt a spear pointed into her back"Jade Curtiss, you're a force to be reckoned with,"she admitted,"Even without your Fonic Artes."

"That's quite a compliment. I'm honored." he said with false modesty, "Now, throw down your weapons." Legretta hesitated but threw down her weapons down nonetheless. But Luke was one step ahead of them, knowing Tear would not take the shot and hesitate. Jade called to Tear," Tear! Use you Hymns!" Legretta turned in Tear's general direction, "Tear...Tear Grants?" she was surprised and confused, why would Tear be here.

"Major Legretta?!" Tear was equally as surprised.

"O melody beckoning toward the Abyss... Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze." Legretta collapsed but remained coherent, the remaining guards however still stood. 'Dammit,'he cursed,'Not powerful enough.'

"So, you too know those Hymns, I doubt Tear taught them to you..."Legretta rasped, the Arte was slowly overtaking her body, she'd fall asleep very soon. While they had their little standoff, Luke saw a shadow above on the Tartarus, a figure that was definitely Guy. When the blonde saw that he'd caught Luke's attention, he nodded in acknowledgment, waiting for Luke to give the signal.

Luke smirked in his head, well rather he grinned madly, his maniacal side was about to make an entrance. The doors of the Tartarus were opening in the background of the events before him, Luke called out to Tear, "Tear! Second Hymn!" Tear wasted no time,"O tune of unyielding protection... Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze ."

A field of transparent glass appeared around her, and disappeared as quickly as it had come, lightning struck Tear at that exact moment, but it had no effect, it didn't even touch her. Looking back to see where it had come from, they found one of the six god generals, Arietta the Wild, and her monster friends along with her. Legretta struggled to get up and stay awake,"Arietta!" she bit out,"What happened?!"

"It's still inoperable...," she admitted, clutching her doll tighter," I was only able to get this far because my friend tore open the wall." Legretta smiled a bit, although that was hard when you were gritting your teeth in concentration, trying NOT to fall asleep. "That's fine, restrain-" Luke used the sunlight to his advantage, reflecting it off his blade, signaling Guy to get to Ion, who was still a bit on the side, being moved discreetly, well not as discreetly as before, by some Oracle Knights that thought they were being slick. 

"Enter the Amazing Guy!" he yelled, knocking out the Oracle Knights and taking Ion, a relative distance away. Arietta tried to stop him only to be held at spear point ,"Aah!!"

"Arietta!"Legretta called, finally wearing off the last vestiges of the Arte. She made to move, but Jade  only tightened his grip, inching her neck ever so closer to his spear.

"Now then, drop your weapons once more and go back inside the Tartarus," he ordered. Legretta put down her firearms and walked to the Tartarus, not once looking back. Once Legretta was inside, Jade looked down to glower at Arietta ,"You're next, take your monster inside."Arietta looked at Ion, stuttering, trying to get the words out."Fon Master... I...I..."

Ion shook his head sadly,"Please do as he says. Arietta." His eyes pleaded with her, Arietta could not turn down the face of the person who was like a father to her. She complied, her liger following behind her. Luke released a breath he'd been holding on purpose, he was tired, this entire loop felt like it was taking to long. Mieu floated up and sat on Luke's head, patting him in comfort. That is...until Guy came and gave Luke a good"pat" on the back.

"Hey, Luke! Man, you've adjusted to the outside world rather quickly. Still, though, looking for you everywhere, didn't think I'd find you here." Guy said with a bright smile on his face, though past that it read,'What the hell?! Luke why are you in Malkuth?! Do you know how much trouble you're in?'If Luke didn't actually have a mother, Guy would definitely be his second choice, he was an overprotective mother hen if Luke ever saw one.

"Well, it was either fight or die, besides I had helped out there." Luke explained scratching his cheek, picking up a frightened Mieu who was clinging to the ground, he pet the cheagle affectionately," And can you honestly blame me for getting lost, I may have studied maps, but studying them is useless unless you actually know where you are." He pointed out, Guy put up his hands is surrender,a small affectionate smile playing on his lips.

Luke glanced over at the rest of the crew, who were staring with varying gauges of curiosity. Tear was looking between them, he eyes a bit frantic, she probably recognized Guy from the manor,and was a bit nervous. Guy hadn't acted hostile towards her before, so she wouldn't have to worry.(Although that had more to do with Guy's irrational fear of women more than anything else.)

Ion was looking with obliviousness, but he seemed pleased to meet a new face and happy with how much Luke was smiling. You could see the innocence of his floating around him in his aura.He was such a cute kid, Luke was proud to have been able to call him his little brother in another life.

Jade...well Jade was an enigma like always, but this Jade, this time, he looked at Luke warily, and enviously. Not directed at him ,but at Guy, he seemed tense every time Guy physically contacted him. When the Colonel found Luke's gaze locked on him he smirked and turned to Ion, "By the way, Ion, where's Anise?"

"The enemy stole the emperor's letter. Anise went to get it back,"he explained, now a bit worried ,"but a monster knocked her out of a porthole. But I heard soldiers say they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right..." Luke internally chuckled, Anise was made of sturdy stuff, not only that but the brat cursed worse than a sailor.

"Then we head for St. Binah, that's our rendezvous point with Anise," Jade said.

'Won't you be wanting to take any of your remaining troops with you?" Guy said, gesturing to the Tartarus, Luke's face grew dark and Tear looked away. Jade shrugged his shoulders,"I can't imagine there being any survivors. If they left any witnesses, it would lead to war between the Order of Lorelei and Malkuth."Guy's eyes widened, and for the sake of his own conscious Luke asked," How many were on board?"

"Roughly 140, half of the usual amount given the nature of our mission."

"Over a hundred people were killed..." Guy said, tightening his fists. Tear broke the wave of silence and quiet grief,"Let's get going. If we get caught here, the war that follows will claim the lives of much more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's settled with many of you that a Christmas special will be put up, I'll try doing one for my other 2 fics, so buckle up, I shall try my hand at Lemon!!


	10. Omake:Yule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not late. I'm not, it's Christmas morning, I'm on time. Enjoy my failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giver-Receiver  
> Luke-Jade  
> Jade-Natalia  
> Natalia-Guy  
> Guy-Tear  
> Tear-Anise  
> Anise-Luke

It was cold up in Keterburg, the group bundled up with longer sleeved clothing, and an extra scarf or fingered mittens. They would still need to get around from Keterburg port, the city itself and Mt. Zaleho. It was a long, cold, and frostbitten trek there and back, and now the port was closed up due to the drastic snowstorm that hit yesterday. Jade seemed a bit miffed at that.But he gave a resigned sigh, which caught Luke's interest.

"Something wrong Jade?" Luke asked while petting Mieu, the tiny cheagle enjoying the warmth of Luke's hand. Jade flashed Luke a smile,"Nothing at all, why?"

"Well, you seemed pretty upset that we couldn't leave right away." Jade sucked in a tiny breath that only Luke seemed to hear, Luke's eyes lit up, he smirked," Oh so you were hoping to avoid something! What is it?" Luke was enjoying this squirming Jade. His questioning of Jade didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the party.

"What!! The Colonel is all nervous?!" Anise couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. There was no way the Colonel would get this upset over something to this extent.

"Jade you may as well just give it up." Guy offered from his seat, polishing his sword.

"That's true, once Luke begins, he won't stop until he receives answers. 'Tis merely his nature." Natalia seconded, sipping her tea. Jade's eyes twitched slightly, and Luke realized he'd gone a little too far... oh well, he'd probably receive his punishment tonight if Jade's expression was anything to go by, and it always was. There was

There was a knock on the door that interrupted the group, Jade sighed and slowly got up to open it. Behind the door was one of the servants of the Inn,"Sir, a message from you sister, the Governess." He was handed a cream colored envelope, with the official seal of Keterburg. Jade thanked the servant and sent them away. Jade stared at the letter, walking back into the chair he was sitting in, he sat down, and handed the letter to Luke, looking out the window.

Luke gingerly took the letter and slowly opened it, and began to read it aloud.

_"Dear brother,_

_knowing you, you'll have  passed this letter to one of you teammates to read aloud._

"Heh, she knows you like the back of her hand Colonel." Anise snickered.

_I know that you detest the upcoming holiday's merely based on the fact that it's annoying._

"He considers many things annoying though doesn't he?" Natalia said to no one.

"Yes, well he seems to really hate the holiday since he was so antsy to leave," Guy replied.

  _But since you're stuck here, you'll consider joining in on the annual holiday festivities, now brother we'll be holding the Yule Ball the night after tomorrow, on the eve of Yule, please, at least, stay for the morning of Yule. And I hope that your friends will find a way to put a suit on you, somehow, either way, I expect you to be there for a minimum of 10 minutes, I won't ask for any more or any less. You owe me, brother._

 _Sincerely_ _,_

_Nephry Osbourne_

"Well, now we know why the Colonel was in such a rush to leave." Tear said, returning to her spear. Jade didn't reply, opting instead to stare out the window intently, seemingly enthralled by the falling snow outside. The group shuffled around the room and remained quiet. 

"We're not going-" Jade started.

"The hell we're not. C'mon! We have enough gald to rent some suits for the night. Move you ass old man!" Luke said, he for one, was really excited to see Jade in a suit. And not in the context of what the rest of the group was thinking.

"C'mon Colonel! It's like your sister said, you owe her." Anise joined, she just wanted to have something to make fun of the Colonel with.

* * *

The group took a stroll through Keterburg, they watched as the town readied themselves for the annual Yule celebrations. Luke had never spent Yule outside of his family and neither had Natalia, spending it every year with the nobility of Baticul, so it was a new experience, to say the least. It was freezing too, so those who weren't used to such cold temperatures found solace buying the free samples of Keterburg hot chocolate.

They would get it free for no charge, based on the fact that Jade was their friend. "Huh, looks like you came in handy after all." Guy said, chuckling. Jade, dressed warmly in a woolen trench coat, and a red scarf, glared at Guy, almost childishly, but took his cup anyway, and walked away with it.

"Aww, cmon Colonel, don't be like that!" Anise called after him, Jade paying no heed, just continuing to sulk as he always had. Luke snickered, and noticed a pamphlet on the stand, titled 'Fun Activities to do during Yule.' Luke reached for it and started flipping through it, Natalia and Tear peering over his shoulders to read it as well. 

"This seems like a fun activity to do." Tear said pointing to one on the list. Luke read through it, reading it aloud," Secret Santa.The basic concept of the Secret Santa game is simple. All of the participants' names are placed in a hat, box, etc. and mixed up. Each person then chooses one name from the box but doesn't tell anyone which name was picked. He/she is now responsible for buying a gift for the person selected."

"Playing the game, Step 1: Write the names of everyone participating on a piece of paper. Step 2: Cut out and toss the names into a hat. Step 3: Set a price limit." Tear continued, reading the rules aloud. Anise and Guy had come back with a reluctant Jade at this point, who was trying to leave again.

"Step 4: Draw names," Guy read,"Step 5: Set a gift-giving date. Step 6: Purchase a gift. Step 7: Exchange gifts. "

"Well it seems simple enough, shall we?" Natalia offered. The party thought it over and put it to a vote. Guess what they decided.

* * *

"Okay, so we've agreed to set the price to at least 2000 gald with a maximum of 7000 since we have the gald to spare and won't be needing any supplies for awhile." Guy said, holding the hat with the names. Luke was a bit suspicious because Guy kept glancing over at him, every 2 seconds.

"Yes, Guy we've been over this already, don't make me hug you." Anise threatened, she wasn't exactly patient, probably having established what gift she would get who, depending on who she got. 

Guy flinched at the thought of her threat," A-alright, just remember once we all get one, we open them, once we've opened them, there are no take backs unless you happened to get yourself." They passed around the basket, each taking a strip of folded paper, each bubbling with excitement at the prospect of this activity.

Each unfolding their papers, there were mixed reactions. Tear seemed to be smiling, Anise was chuckling with a shit eating grin on her face. Natalia seemed a bit relieved, Jade looked bored and annoyed, and Guy looked like he was about to faint. Luke's expression was blank, he stared at Guy, and then sighed. Jade stood up," Well now, we have approximately 2 days before Yule, so might as well start gift hunting now."

They all agreed. 

* * *

Luke was stumped he'd run into Tear who'd been looking at different barrettes, she couldn't seem to make up her mind and asked Luke for help, apparently so long as the person you ask for help isn't the receiver of your gift, it was okay. So she'd asked for his opinion, which one suited Anise best, "Something Pink, it seems to be her favorite color." He'd suggested, and Tear seemed to have an epiphany, running off somewhere, now if only Luke could figure out what to get his mystery person.

He'd run into Guy next, who was pretty jittery about the whole thing, he'd probably had to give a gift to one of the women in their party. He was inside a jewelry shop trying to make a cheap, but nice looking selection. The blonde stared hard before giving up and heading over to the store clerk, he'd wanted to make the decision based on his own merit. Luke took some pity on Guy and helped him out.

"Need some help?" he'd asked.

"LORELEI YES!" Guy replied.

"Who's the gift to?"

"Tear."

"Oh...something cute aught to do it."

"Something cute?"

"Yeah, something cute, like Mieu." the cheagle in question, opened his eyes from atop Luke's head, giving a confused Mieu, as he did.

So Luke had yet again saved the day, but couldn't figure out his own.

Luke hadn't run into anyone else, but he's run into Nephry, she made some small talk with him while she walked around overseeing the decorations for Yule.

"So Luke, are you all attending?" Nephry had asked, referring to her letter.

"Yes, we will be attending, and we'll drag Jade along against his will."

 Nephry chuckled," Well, then I hope you've enjoyed the various decorations and Yule celebratory foods."

"Yea we have, we're also doing this one activity called Secret Santa." Nephry held a look of surprise on her face, and she giggled,"Well, you must have more influence on Jade than I originally thought." Luke grinned, with his hands behind his head,"Yea. I guess we have influenced Jade a lot lately."

"Luke I meant you."

"Eh," Luke stood there dumbfounded. Was Nephry implying, well they may have been siblings, but Jade even insisted on him keeping this from Asch.

"No need, to worry, I figured it out on my own," she smiled, brushing a few locks of hair behind her ear. "So, care to tell what's on your mind?"

Luke blushed, thought it over and decided asking Nephry was probably the best idea. "What kind of a gift would you get for a person who doesn't find any worth in sentimental values, and probably has things worth practical value?" He'd worked the whole damn question in a roundabout way, but he was pretty sure he saw Jade out of the corner of his eye, whether or not he was suspicious of Luke, he couldn't tell, but he had to be vague.

Nephry's eye's lit up with recognition, she could probably guess who he was talking about. She went into deep thought for several moments while walking, Luke had to maneuver her out of harm's way several times.

"I'VE GOT IT!!" she yelled to the ocean, she looked around confused, wondering how in Lorelei she got there.

"You've got what?" Luke asked, from next to her, he was still sitting on the bench they'd made themselves at home on.

"Here, go to this store, and look for this book." She gave him several further instructions, before bidding him goodbye and a reminder to come to the Yule ball. Luke gave her thanks and all but ran to the bookstore. Mieu struggling to hang on to Luke's short hair.

* * *

Luke would have to thank Nephry, for giving him the directions he needed to go to the bookstore, he was sure without them, the store itself would be impossible to find. The entrance was secluded, hidden between two large building, one a cafe, and the other a Capacity Core Shop. The entrance was down a flight of stairs, the desk was mahogany, and a Welcome sign hung from it invitingly.

Entering the building, Luke perused through the shelves aimlessly. The shop was underground, but the ceiling was high up. The counter where the cashier was off to his right, and rows of shelves to his left. In the center was a lounge for regulars. Lush couches and love seat with oak tables. Lamps hung from the walls giving adding ambiance to the room. Walking further, he saw a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

Luke stopped and then realized he had no idea where to find the book he was looking for. He turned back to the register, there was no one behind it, but there was a bell on the table. Luke tapped it twice and waited patiently still glancing around the bookstore.

"May I help you?"

Luke was startled out of his thoughts and pulled back to reality. "Oh..ah.Yes, um...well I'm looking for this books, a friend told me that I could find it here." He explained, handing the women the piece of paper, she looked at it and disappeared before reappearing with its moments later.

It was fairly old, the papers were held together, the pages were yellowing. Luke looked at the title, and his eyes widened just a bit.

"Will that be all?" the women asked.

"Huh, oh yes, how much?"

"For that book, 3000 gald." Luke dug around in his pockets, for the money he was given, finding it he counted 3000 gald, with an extra 1000 as a tip for her help. Luke bagged it and went home with a smile on his face.

* * *

 "So, did all of you enjoy it thoroughly?" Jade asked as he loosened his tie, in the elevator. The group sagged against the walls, both in exhaustion and in anger.

Upon arriving at the ball they were greeted by Nephry, and given complimentary drinks,(Anise got the juice of course), and they walked around to mingle. Luke was a bit wary of that and kept the company of Nephry, which was a good decision since Jade would be keeping her company near the door, greeting guest as they continued to arrive.

Many stopped to give Jade a pat on the back, or ruffle his hair, he didn't seem to mind but was mildly annoyed. Luke was also greeted and chatted up by the many guests, being Kimlascan nobility required him to be and diplomatic, it seemed now was one of those times.

Natalia was with Guy, at a respectable distance, mingling with the people and nobility of Keterburg. Anise was enjoying playing with the few children that were there, she entertained them with a few of her miniature dolls, the parents seemed to be relieved. Tear was standing aside watching over them, holding onto Mieu.The children were enthralled by her retelling of their many adventures, with Meiu giving side commentary.

And then it started to go downhill, midnight was fast approaching, and the group saw it fit  to leave, the problem was they couldn't find anyone. Jade and Luke looked for Anise first, not because she was the child of the group, but because she was Anise. They found her just in the nick of time, she was about to kill, and they mean kill, a noble who seemed to be groping Tear, if her muttering, when they pulled her away, were anything to go by.

Tear was holding herself back too, she wanted to cast one of her favorite Artes, Eclair de Larmes. It would've ripped the fat nobleman in 2, and even if they were all for it, there were limits. Next was Guy and Natalia. Guy had fainted, and Natalia looked as though she would faint if she carried his heavy body a moment longer. They relieved her of her duty and snuck away.

Jade was relieved to be outside in the cool Keterburg air, Anise passed around their coats and they made their way back to the Hotel.

"I hated it...and I hate you more Colonel." Anise said tiredly, she was struggling to stay upright, the walk back was no easy feat. They each took turns carrying Guy's prone body when it came for Natalia to carry him once again, she forcefully woke him up. He woke up them and walked the rest of the way on his feet.

"Anise, as much as I wanted you to kill him, it would bring both Daath under scrutiny, and Kimlasca as well by proxy of associating with you," He told her, adjusting his glasses once again.

"Next time, let's just do what Jade does." Guy said, from his spot in the elevator.

"And pray tell, what that would be Guy?" Natalia bit out, still irritated from earlier.

"I think he'd referring to Jade's habit of staying only 10 minutes." Tear offered, holding Mieu a little closer, the cheagle equally as tired.

"I'm all for it," Luke said, raising him hand.

"I second that." Guy followed, slowly they all agreed the next time they were invited to party with nobility, they would insist on only staying for a bit(15 minutes max) and no more, saving the world required a lot of time.

* * *

Luke stretched languidly in the shared room with Jade. They'd come out to their little gang of misfits a while ago, they'd all accepted them right away. And Tear seemed to really be excited at the prospect of them being together, so she insisted that when they could afford it, Luke and Jade have their own room, this was one of those times.

He didn't mind, though when they could afford another room, Jade did many things to him that he enjoyed. Tonight would be no different. Jade exited the adjoining bathroom, wiping away all the sweat that had accumulated during the ball, he was shirtless, with only a pair of sleeping pants and the towel around his neck. He was drying his wet hair and peered through squinted eyes at Luke.

Luke was staring in admiration of Jade and his blessed military body. At first glance one would assume that Jade was skinny as a stick, with barely any muscle on his body, rising through the military as a famed Mage and Genius Scientist.But only a select few knew of the toned body that lay underneath.

Taut muscle made up his torso, and upper body. They were firm and warm, and as rock hard as they were, they were a great comfort to Luke in the middle of the night, when the memories of his past lives come to haunt him. He was staring and he knew, making no move to avert his gaze, Jade smirked and leaned over to Luke giving him a chaste kiss, before turning off the lights.

Catching his hair in a vice like a grip, Jade forced Luke to look at him. Luke made a hissing sound, the pain shooting through his skull. He liked the pain, another reason they were so thankful for getting their own room, far from their friends. He could scream to his heart's delight.

"You know Luke," Jade started caressing Luke's face,"I didn't get to punish you for that jab you made the other day." He gripped Luke's face, still standing over him, near the edge of the bed. Luke peered up at Jade, through the darkness, Jade looked a bit frightening, but this turned on Luke in so many ways. He felt himself stiffen and whimper at the tightness in his boxers. 

 It was more than likely Luke would not be receiving any relief tonight. Jade, still gripping the redhead's hair, pulled him forward. Luke opened his eyes through the pain of having his short hair pulled, he was face to face with Jade's dick. He knew what Jade wanted, so using his teeth,(Jade enjoyed watching him struggle), he opened Jade's fly and pulled down his boxers carefully, freeing Jade's hardened cock. 

It was large and always seemed to satisfy him, he gave the head a kiss, before lapping up and down the hardened appendage, enjoying the control he held over Jade. Said man was clutching at Luke's hair painfully, but he was panting heavily. He fondled Jade ball sac, blindly, learning to weave flower crowns sure came in handy. 

He took in as much as he could, and pumped the rest of what he couldn't fit, and continued in his ministrations, Jade was now pumping in and out of his mouth, relinquishing control from Luke. Luke let it go, tonight he wouldn't be able to best Jade. 

Jade pulled out, still rock hard, and stared down at Luke. Luke panted, his own hardness finally making itself known, Jade smirked, loving the effect he had on Luke. He held Luke by the hair still, it was a little painful, and Luke let his guard down, shedding a few tears at the pain. Jade wouldn't hurt him with ill intentions, he could trust the Necromancer.(Besides, seeing Luke in pain, circumstantially speaking, of course, seemed to turn Jade on.)

He ordered while still tugging at Luke's hair, forcing their eyes to meet, "Strip." He ordered. And Luke complied. Jade let him go, and walked over to his side of the bed, rummaging through the drawers, Luke worked hastily to remove his clothing, if he didn't he'd surely be punished.(He wouldn't mind, but then he'd be a wet sobbing mess, he had his pride to think about.)

He'd finally removed his shirt, and flexed his arms behind his back, Jade grabbed them and tied them with a belt, wrapping them tightly around Luke's wrists. Tight of them to cause Luke's arms to twinge in pain, but loose enough so as not dislocate or strain his muscles. Luke hissed at the tightness, struggling against the bonds, testing them out, he could break out of them, but the combination of the pain in his arms, and Jade tugging his hair was too good to resist. 

"Ah!!"He called out. Such pain was a true pleasure to him, he really was a masochist.  Jade's grip tightened in his hair as he circled Luke's entrance with a foreign object, it was cold and numbing as it entered. He hissed in pain again."What the hell, you bastard?!" Luke yelled his mouth moving faster than his mind.

 Jade kissed the back of Luke's neck, releasing his hair. Luke shivered, Jade must have been feeling quite merciful if he let up on his hair. Although it could've been false relief. "You seem to be enjoying yourself Luke." Jade commented, reaching around Luke with both hands, Luke's eyes widened when he realized what Jade was doing.

"No-wait, Jade-please, no don't-!" Luke squirmed, craning his neck to look at Jade. But at that point it was too late, Jade had tied a ribbon around his dick, preventing him from relief. This was a first for him, so he was a bit afraid. Jade kissed the back of his neck, trailing from Luke's belly button to his Adam's apple before lifting Luke's head and turning it towards him.

Jade gave him a sweet lingering kiss, one of the one's he'd give Luke when he was about to do something new and foreign in the bedroom. Luke squeezed his eyes shut, bumping his forehead against Jade's, in silent permission for Jade to continue.

"Come now Luke, you must do some work, an old man like me can no longer keep up with the youth of today." Jade teased from below him. Luke grit his teeth, shaking," I'll ride you old man." He bit out, he enjoyed riding Jade, on the rare occasion it happened, it allowed for Luke to have some semblance of control over Jade, he set the pace. 

Although at the moment he was a bit jittery, not out of nervousness, but at the warmth in his ass. Jade had cum inside him 2 twice and Luke was sure by this point he'd, at least, have cum 5 or 6 times. He was only spilling out bits of precum, leaking it slowly and droplets. It ached and he felt intense pain gather at the head of his dick, and he felt intense pleasure from behind him. 

He squeezed his eye's shut as he struggled to lift himself, he felt Jade's calloused hand caress his face, brushing over his thumb over Luke's lips, Luke peered down at his lover. The Necromancer, smiled back at him, the smile that barely anyone saw, the one Luke saw every night. Luke felt tear overflowing, and he moved, lifting himself up and down. Setting a steady pace.

He then tugged one of Jade's hands to his hips, silently asking for help. Jade obliged, lifting Luke and increasing their pace, this was how most of their trysts went. Usually in the bed of a room shared with Guy, they grew accustomed to being silent, and Guy was none the wiser. As they continued Luke felt Jade grow bigger inside him, and Jade felt Luke grow tighter.

Jade pulled the redhead down roughly, into s sweet kiss, releasing Luke's dick from its confines. Jade and Luke came in large amounts. Although Luke spouted ribbon after ribbon of white streams.

They rested their foreheads together, falling into the bed to lay next to one another.

"How are we gonna explain the mess to the maid's?" Luke asked breathlessly.

"I wouldn't worry about the Nephry probably will send someone who won't tell a soul," Jade replied, adjusting Luke's body so that he was Luke was resting on his chest. Jade, like Luke, felt much more comfortable in bed with him like this. 

"Hey, Jade."

Sigh,"Yes, Luke?"

"Merry Christmas."

"...Happy Yule."

Morning came, and the group spent their time in a reserved common room. Around the fireplace, telling old Christmas stories, Jade begrudgingly shared his, and Luke, Guy, and Natalia had a lot of fun sharing theirs. Tear held much nostalgia recalling her Christmas festivities with Van and Legretta in the Qlipoth. It was funny to hear such stories about formidable people.

It seemed as a child Van did his best to make sure Tear was a spoiled child during Yule, which their Grandfather would scold him for, only to turn around and do the same thing. Anise had easy Christmases growing up and when she joined the order, most everyone spoiled her. It was fun and games, up until the point where it was time for the gift exchange.

There was a thick tension in the air until Anise handed her present off to Luke, who was sitting next to Jade, with a mug of peppermint hot chocolate in his hands. He opened the decorated box, he looked inside and quickly shut it, his face beet red, Jade who had been peering over his shoulders smirked.

"Let me guess, Nephry helped you?" Jade said.

"Yup." Anise grinned from her gremlin smile. The rest of the group refrained from asking, whatever it was that was within the box was probably something not worth knowing.

Next Tear handed off a small box to Anise, inside were small barrettes, they were made out of crystal, and glowed a pretty shade of pink. Anise put them on right away. They were pretty special since Anise put it on so quickly, it seemed they were made to channel fonon particles. 

Guy handed his present of to Tear, which was a miniature stuffed version of Mieu. Tear looked from Guy to the stuffed toy and back, thanking him profusely. 'It's so cute.'she thought.

Next Natalia handed off a heavy kit to Guy. Upon opening it, Guy in took a large breath, it was a new toolkit filled with Fontech tools. He wanted so badly to hug Natalia in thanks, but instead he thanked her over and over again.

Jade handed Natalia a bag, inside it was a new archers coat. it was stylish and practical, Natalia bowed her head in thanks. She must have been wanting it for a long time.

Finally, Luke handed Jade his gift a book. One of Professor Nebilims first. Jade smiled and patted Luke on the head. Luke leaned in. The whole group broke out into a series of smile.

'Maybe Yule with this bunch, isn't so bad.' Jade thought.


	11. Gnomeday, Rem-Decan 26, N.D2018- The Citadel of St.Binah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been forever, I am so sorry. I'm trying to update shit all at once, and it's not fun. I hope you enjoyed all the sit posted so far. Anyway, enjoy next few chapters may be clipped, or posted in drafts.

They'd run far from the Tartarus, Luke pushing towards getting to civilization for Ion's sake. Jade was a bit skeptical about him saying it was for Ion's sake, but he further proved it by offering to carry Ion the remainder of the way. They'd come across several groups of Oracle Knights, which they dispatched rather easily.

"Are you tired, Ion?" Luke asked, setting an even pace, steadying Ion on his back with the sheath of his sword. He was a bit upset at how light Ion was, what was the doing?!

"A bit." Ion admitted, the sky was already shifting from the amber afternoon skies to the cool blue of the night. They halted their movement in a clearing, Tear, and Jade opting to stand at both entrances.

"I don't think we've had the time to make introductions."Ion said from where Luke placed him, in the shade with Mieu.

"I'm Mieu!!" The tiny creature called floating up to Guys' face. Clearly excited to see a new face. Guy patted Mieu's head, the cheagle cooing in appreciation.

"Hey, there little guy, the name's Guy Cecil, a servant under the employment of Duke Fabre." Guy said, with a huge grin on his face.

"Jade Curtiss, of the Malkuth Military," Jade called out from where he leaned against a tree.

"Locrian Sergeant, Tear Grants." Tear introduced from her position, her eyes never wandering far from her lookout.

"And I suppose you know who I am." Ion said with a smile, he was tired Luke could see.

"Hey Luke, you put any supplies in there or anything?" Guy asked, Luke knowing what he meant. Looks like he knew about the whole pouch thing. Luke thought about it, he'd put a lot of practical stuff in it, so he wondered, did he put a pillow or blanket in there or something. He dug around, even sticking Mieu in it for some help. Mieu came back with a large body pillow, it was a rather dirty shade of yellow and an eyesore to look at.But it would do.

"Here you go Ion," Luke said, placing it on the ground for him to lay his head on. Ion was a bit flustered trying to stay up a bit longer.

"Ion," Jade called, Ion snapping his head in Jade's direction,"Rest. You used Daathic Fon Artes back at the Tartarus, don't think I can't tell." Ion blushed beet red and tried to argue with Jade for several moments more until he finally conceded to sleeping on the body pillow, using it as a makeshift headrest.Within minutes, Ion was sound asleep.

Luke and Guy shared a laugh over this. It was short lived however when Guy broke the laughter first, " So Luke. Mind telling me why the Fon Master is here with a Malkuth Soldier."

Luke froze for a moment, and turned to look at Guy, he sighed, kneading his forehead. This whole situation was such a damn mess, even back then Luke had thought so, but back then he was a child.

"It's really not for any of us to say. It is Ion's personal goal or whatever." Luke said holding Mieu, petting his fur, the cheagle purring in appreciation.(Luke didn't know they could purr.)

"Well he's asleep, and I'm not exactly trusting of Malkuth Military to give me the whole truth so, humor me why don't you?" Guy spoke, his tone lighthearted and free, his smile spoke otherwise. Tear and Jade rejoined the group, taking their places near the fire.

"The Fon Master is acting as an emissary of peace, on order to prevent war from breaking out between Malkuth and Kimlasca." Tear explained, seating herself comfortably."As a result of internal affairs within the Order, he had to request aid from the Malkuth Military in order to make the journey safely."

Jade nodded in affirmation,"It's true, although we reached out to him first. Not only that, he wouldn't have needed to ask for our aid in sneaking him out if Mohs hadn't prevented it in the first place." Guy folded his arms and weighed upon the information thoughtfully," So the Fon Master is traveling as an emissary on a mission to prevent war. But why would Mohs want to start a war anyway?"

"In the words of Ion," Luke began," I'm sorry, but that's confidential to the Order." He mimicked Ion to the best of his abilities, even going as far as imitating Ion' voice. Jade chuckled, and Guy laughed. Tear caught herself mid-laugh to slap Luke on his thigh,"Ow!" Luke grunted.

"Luke, that's rude!! It's the Fon Master!" She scolded.

"But, he imitated me perfectly!!" Ion argued from seemingly nowhere, he seemed so tired before only to shoot to Luke's defense. Luke was rather skeptical, so he waved a hand in front of the Fon Masters face. Only for the hand to go unnoticed.

"...Ion, you awake?" Ion's pupil's dilated and as he unceremoniously fell back onto the pillow, fast asleep.

"...Was he even awake?" Guy whispered.

"I don't think so...."Tear replied.

"...I don't think he realized what he was saying." Luke whispered, for the sake of Ion's own self-respect they decided to keep it a secret though Guy suspected Luke was going it hold it over Ion's head in a friendly manner. 

* * *

"Good morning everyone!" Ion greeted come morning light. He rubbed the remnants of sleep away from his eyes and watched as the rest of the party bustled around fitting things into Luke's 'magic bag' as Mieu had dubbed it. They milled about in the area before deciding to take a rest at the Inn at St.Binah, and eat there. They wouldn't find the necessary ingredients out here anyway.

"Alright then," Jade said clasping his hands behind his back," Guy, Tear and I will take up a triangular formation centered around Luke and Ion, with Luke acting as Ion's last means of defense."Luke was curious but didn't argue, Mieu let himself rest on Ion's head and engaged in excited conversation with him.

Guy eyed Jade, but let his gaze drop and took point, with Jade and Tear holding the rear. For all that Luke traveled with them, he was still unused to traveling with Jade on his back. It was a feeling that he'd probably never be accustomed to. He had to relax his muscles soon, though, both Tear and Jade were seasoned soldiers, with the kind of experience they had, they'd be able to tell in a heartbeat whether or not he was at ease.

He made small talk with Ion as they traveled closer to St.Binah. 

"I hope Anise is alright." Tear said worriedly, as much as Luke wanted to tell her not to worry, it would seem strange for him to have so much faith in her. But then again he could always say that if she was qualified to be a Fon Master Guardian, she was probably alright.

Probably.

"I'm sure she's fine." Ion reassured her.

"Ion's right, this is Anise we're talking about," Jade added, adjusting his glasses, and for the life of him, Luke just wondered, why didn't he get glasses that actually work. He looked away when Jade's sharp gaze met his own. Those wine red eyes still gave him a nervous feeling.

"This "Anise" sounds pretty incredible." Guy commented, in awe at how much respect Anise was getting.

"Hah hah hah... She's indeed a very cute and perky little girl." Jade admitted.

"You sound like a pedophile." Luke commented, taking Mieu in his arms, the cheagle looked up at him curiously, but soon Luke's soft hands caught the creature's limited attention.

"And how would you know what pedophiles are Luke, you've never been outside the Manor." Guy teased.(Although secretly he was worried, Luke knowing about things like that, what else was the redhead learning outside of his supervision.)

"You made me read the paper every morning. It was hard not to miss the Headline 'Port Pedophile Caught" or Market Street Pedophile Apprehended' when you read it every morning." Luke replied raising Mieu above his head before releasing the cheagle and watching Mieu float around his head.

"...Oh," Guy replied. His mind was racing a mile a minute.

"Um...well Anise is very dependable, so there's no need to worry whatsoever." Ion said quickly changing the subject, or trying to, at least, it didn't work, though.

"Enough chitchat for now. Shall we be going?" Jade aid smiling.

"Yes, let's go." Ion agreed.

.

.

.

" ...So why is everyone assuming this Anise girl is all right?" Guy asked aloud to no one at all.

* * *

They arrived at The Citadel, St. Binah only to find that the Oracle Knights had beat them there. There was no other way into St.Binah other than the front gate.

"Looks like they beat us here," Luke commented.

"Well, this certainly put's a damper on our plans." Jade joked.

"Y'know, I saw a cart or two back there," Luke said in Tear's direction.

"We should probably backtrack and see if one will smuggle us in." Tear said nodding her head in affirmation."Now you're thinking like a soldier."

They backtracked along the path and waited along the route the last cart had taken.Once nearing the group, Luke stepped out in front of it, "Stop the cart."

The drivers of the cart came to an immediate halt, the rest of the group stepped out from the shrubbery, only to be met with a familiar face and voice. 

"Waah! Colonel Curtiss! And you're...Luke, was it?" Rose was confused, how on earth had they all gotten here. Luke was the first to speak up in explanation,"I'm sorry to bother you while on you delivery route, but could we use your cart as cover to enter St.Binah?"

"A group of malcontents chasing Fon Master Ion are guarding the entrance. Could we ask for your assistance?" Guy asked coming to Luke's aid.

Rose considered it, and chuckled,: Goodness. My birthday Score certainly didn't foretell such excitement."

"Please." Tear begged.

"No need to ask, it's the least we can do, considering you saved Engeve and all. Hop in." Jade thanked her as they proceeded to make their way into the back of the cart, bringing down the cloth after Jade got in, well he more hopped than anything. Luke gave him a scrutinizing look, and Jade peered back with an utterly baffled and confused look. Luke nearly let out a laugh at his expression. Oh, how he wished there was such a thing as portable camera's. 

The cart came to a halt at the city gates, and Luke, being the nearest to the coachman, overheard Rose trading words with the guards, it went on for a few minutes and they safely reached the inside of the city without any problems. Everyone let out a breath of relief, they felt the metaphorical tension in the air, lift as they made their way off the cart.

"Well, this is where we part ways," Rose called to the group, lifting several crates from the cart and placing them on the ground.

"Thank you!" Ion called to her, bowing ever so slightly.

"Yeah, thanks, Rose," Luke called to her, giving a mock salute. Rose laughed and walked away waving at the group. 

"So, Anise is here, right?" Luke asked, arms folded behind his head. This entire thing was taking too long for his liking, he'd rather speed up the whole damn process, but that would raise suspicion and multiple other questions he was not really in the mood to deal with.

"Yes," Jade answered,"She's to meet us at the St.Binah Malkuth military base, that is if she's not dead." He said it rather bluntly, but there was a mischevious glint in his eyes, giving Luke the idea he was just making fun of her.

"Let's make sure to not draw the attention of any of the Oracle Knights stationed outside." Tear said, glancing at the guards in question, she had a pretty good vantage point of them from where she stood.

"Alrighty then," Luke said, balancing on the balls of his feet,"Let's get going.Jade, lead the way?" Luke said, making a gesture. Jade sighed and began walking although he did it at a relatively slow pace. Luke and the rest made no comment, Luke and Tear being enraptured with Meiu's excited speech, with Ion leaning on Guy for support, albeit reluctantly. 

They were greeted, well Jade and Ion were greeted at the entrance to the military base, which, no matter how many times Luke saw it, always looked more of a mansion than anything else.Entering the drawing room, they happened upon to Malkuth soldiers arguing. The focus of the conversation, pertaining to the Oracle Knights stationed at the entrance.

"Father, we've already been over this," the younger McGovern explained tiredly, "Officially, the Oracle Knights are considered Scorers. We can't restrict their actions  
without a direct order from His Imperial Majesty..."

The elder McGovern  yelled," Enough! You know how terrible the Hod War became with their involvement!" And he had a point, the involvement of the Order only the spiraled the world further into chaos.

"Pardon, the intrusion," Jade said, cooly. He walked into the room, being met with a mixed set of reactions. The elder McGovern surprised, but pleased nonetheless, and the younger surprised but tensed.

" Jade the Necromancer," said the latter.

"Ohoho, if it isn't Jade," exclaimed the former.

Jade greeted the elder Mcgovern with familiarity," It's been a while Field Marshal McGovern."

The old man in question laughed heartily," Ohohoh, I'm retired now. There's no need for those formalities anymore," he said, waving of the title," And what about you? Don't you think its about time you accepted a promotion? Even at your age, you could have easily made lieutenant general by now." The elder McGovern was scolding Jade with such gusto, Luke couldn't help but snicker. Jade looked back at him to glare at him disapprovingly, and Luke had to hold back the urge to give him the finger. (But he'd rather avoid earning an earful from Guy.)

"Hmm, I think I'll pass, my plate is full as is with being a Colonel," Jade replied, shrugging his shoulders. The way he answered made it difficult to discern whether or not he was being serious or sarcastic.

"Huh, who knew the old guy was such a bigwig," Luke whispered to Guy. Guy nodded from Luke's left," Sounds like it."

"And I thought he was only a Colonel," Tear whispered from Luke's right. petting Mieu. Luke snorted and teased," Some agent you turned out to be."

"Oh hush."

"You and the Emperor go way back. Could you perhaps do something about the Oracle Knights." the elder McGovern probed.

Jade shook his head," I'm afraid they're after us. Once we leave they should follow along shortly. " The elder McGovern looked concerned, eyes darting between Jade and the group that had entered along with him, Luke waved friendlily, "What's happened?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you the details. I'm under direct orders from His Majesty. I'm sorry." Jade explained, adjusting his glasses again for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

The younger McGovern, who they could all tell, was less than thrilled at Jade's presence, asked,"Colonel Curtiss. What business brings you here?" Jade finally acknowledged the younger McGovern's existence. Although harsh, considering Jade, Luke thought, it was fairly within the realm of possibility. 

"Ah, yes, my apologies. Have you received any letters from a Fon Master Guardian ?"

The younger McGovern replied," Yes...about that, we opened the letter for security reasons. you don't mind, I hope."

 Jade waved his hand dismissively, "Not at all, There shouldn't have been anything in there that should've been a problem for you to see." Reaching forward to take the  letter, Jade opened it and quickly scanned over the contents, Luke, and Tear long haven lost their attention to concentrate on Ion's hair. And the Fon Master seemed to  be enjoying it, he was practically purring in delight.

Mid wrapping a small braid together on Ion's head, Jade passed the letter to Luke," The second half is addressed to you." Jade gave him an amused look, Luke took the letter, handing his unfinished braid to Tear to finish.

He began reading the letter aloud, more for Asch's curiosity more than anything because he felt him trying to reach for attention.

<Dreck.>

/Hold up, listen to this./

<?>

"Dearest Colonel Jade, (heart) I had a really scary time," Ion sorted at this, Luke gave him an incredulous stare and he wasn't the only one, Jade and Tear joined in, who knew the Fon Master was such a sassy thing.

<Did the Fon Master just sass->

/I heard nothing, I saw nothing. The Fon Master is an innocent child who knows only good./

"But I managed to make it here. (music note) Don't worry, I'm taking good care of you-know-what! Aren't you proud of me? (music

note)"

<Now that just sounds plain suspicious, how old is this brat anyhow?>

/Same age as Arietta./

<...Is she anything like Ari->

/Yes, in fact in the first loop she killed her./

<...Wait I'm confused, Arietta killed this Anise brat, or was it...>

/It was the other was around./

 "It looks like the Oracle Knights are going to close off St. Binah soon, so I'll go ahead to the next location. (heart)"

/Now come's the part that you will never let me live down./

<What?>

"Is my beloved Luke safe? (Oh, I'm so embarrassed! (heart) I just confessed my feelings! (heart)) I'm really worried. Luke, I miss you so much. (heart) I can't wait to see you again!(music note) Oh, and give my regards to Ion, too. Bye-bye for now! (music note)

Love, Anise."

<You can feel the love for Ion just oozing out of her words, and there's you too.>

/Shutup./

"...I feel a pit dropping in my stomach and bile rising in my throat, is that normal?" Luke asked handing the letter back to Jade.

" Maybe, but damn, Luke, popular enough with the girls? Just don't get carried away. You're engaged to Princess Natalia, you know." Guy teased, Luke huffed, but then had a genius idea.

"In that case Guy you can have her, I mean she's young enough not to be considered a woman per se, so..." Luke said, shrugging his shoulders. Guy made a choked noise and immediately tried to beg for Luke's mercy. Tear and Ion looked upon them and laughed. 

"So what is the next location?" Tear asked mid laugh.

Jade thought for a moment, "That would be the port on the other side of the Fubras River, Kaitzur."

"If I can recall correctly Van said he'd be there." Guy said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Tear visibly flinched,"Van..."

"Hey I don't know what went down between the two of you, but try not to slice him up like you attempted to in Baticul, you are his sister, after all, aren't you?"

Tear nodded, promising not to, but Guy still regarded her warily.

"Well then, we'll bid you our leave," Jade said giving a bow.

The elder McGovern bowed back and responded,"If the Oracle Knights are chasing you, I'll gladly lend a hand. I was elected by the city representatives here. Come by anytime you need help." 

"Will do!" Luke responded as they left.

/Hear that, Van is in Kaitzur, you know what to do./

<Che, just make sure it looks real dreck.>

/Whatever...big brother./

<Ghe..!?>

As amusing as Asch was, picturing Van squirming in agony sounded better. Asch gave a grunt in approval, Luke sighed internally, he was a twisted person, but in a sense he liked it, perhaps this is what Jade felt, experimenting on all those people. Perhaps he could draw it out once more, only to kill Van of course.

<Hey, the more the merrier, but leaving him to rot seems more torturous than anything.>

/Hmm, that's an option, we'll see when we get there. See you in Kaitzur./

<See you in Kaitzur.>

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got to see more of Asch, yay...I'm hyped up on all kinds of stress, and I have to retake an exam I already passed to get an 80...bullshit no? But 'tis the tale of my life, butI am proud to say I have a smut editor, yes she is a Pisces and I am a TAURUS, AND WE ARE BESTIES. wE MET ONE DAY IN THE SHCOOL LIBRARY AND WE ARE CRAZY AS SHIT.  
> AND PROUD. Ja Ne.  
> Read and comment I am open to any questions unless they are rude or discriminatory in any fashion. Otherwise, comment me, I am lonely.


	12. Gnomeday, Rem-Decan 26, N.D2018-Ion's Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You got it." and with a salute Guy left, taking with him Jade, who left out of curiosity of said, 'ingredients.' Tear looked at Luke curiously, and Luke signaled her over, whispering something in her ear, she smiled approvingly and left the room as well.
> 
> "Luke what was all that about?" Ion asked. Luke smirked and told Ion he'd find out later.
> 
> "What I want to know Ion, is how much you're hiding from Lorelei and me," Luke asked losing his smile, crossing his arms facing Ion. The tension in the room grew thick like smog, and Ion smirked taking one finger and twirling it around his finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter...I'm starting to wonder how long I'm gonna make these...Oh well, I just had my Algebra Regents today...I think I failed...

As the party left the mansion itself, Luke kept a steady pace by Ion, chatting with him animatedly, which drew Jade's suspicion but Luke could've cared less, Ion's safety always came first. Luke would see to that himself.

_/So Asch, did you guys take him to the Shurrey Hill Sephiroth?/_

_**< The other God General'shad me doing other things, which they 'found' conveniently to do, so they sent me off, I'm a ways away from Kaitzur, in any case, you know what to watch out for.>** _

Luke internally grimaced but kept his face devoid of any of those thoughts. That is until Tear signaled the group to the side of the entrance gate that allowed for the best point of view to see who was on the other side of the entrance. And lo and behold, who else would it be but the God Generals.

_/They seem to have a lot of time on their hands./_

**_< You don't know the half of it.>_ **

Legretta stepped up and questioned one of the Oracle Knights at the entrance, "Has the Fon Master been found yet?"

Saluting, the knight responded, "It doesn't appear he's entered St.Binah." Arietta, who was also present, much to Luke's chagrin, huffed in anger. She clutched her doll, and growled out, "Those people with Ion are the ones who killed Mommy...My liger friends told me. I'll never forgive them..." as if to symbolically cement that statement, her liger next to her howled in rage. 

Sync, caught most of Luke's attention anyway, Ion was looking at him in utter awe and...maybe betrayal. Not every similarity in his past lives carried over, and him messing up the timeline from the beginning caused a butterfly effect to ripple through the timeline. Maybe the two of them had gotten close enough to become friends. 

"What about that Fon Master Guardian he was seen with?" Sync asked.

"Sir, she seems to have made contact with the Malkuth military. The military is refusing to answer any and all questions on the matter, stating it's 'classified.'" Largo let out a huge sigh at that moment, his stiff posture loosening," It's my fault if I hadn't let that kid blindside me back then, perhaps I wouldn't have let Anise get away." 

Luke then heard a laugh that had always irked him to no end, and he swore he could see Jade's eyes twitch, and Ion burying his face in his hands. Dist, or Saphir Ortion Gneiss, had made his appearance. He laughed in the maniacal way he always tried to pull off. 

"Ahh hah hah hah hah! That's why I told you!" flipping his hair back, he continued,"The only one who can defeat that beastly Jade is the elegant servant of the gods, the esteemed member of the Oracle Knights' Six God-Generals, yours truly, Dist the Rose!" And terrible grammar too, incorrect use of an article, he could hear his governess say.

Sync didn't seem fazed at all, and offhandedly said," You mean Dist the Reaper." Then he and other General proceeded to continue to ignore Dist. 

"How is one so beautiful as myself a "reaper" and not a "rose"?!" Dist fussed. Luke couldn't help but whisper," I don't see the beauty. And don't roses have thorns?"

Jade cast a glance at Luke and pat him on the back approvingly. 

_/Score 1 for me./_

_**< Against what?>** _

_/Dist...although by default, I win that battle so...I don't know./_

_**< Meh.>** _

Legretta rubbed the bridge of her nose, shaking her head," There's no changing the past. What do we do from here Sync? "

Sync thought about that for not even a moment,"Withdraw the troops." Largo started to argue, but Sync stopped him, "Your wound still hasn't healed. The Necromancer almost killed you. Why don't you take a break? And besides, the only way for them to cross the border is through Kaitzur." He gestured towards the military base within the city, "If we stay here and antagonize the Malkuth military, it could spark a diplomatic incident."

In the background, Dist could be heard whining, "Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Which as always, was ignored in favor of the current situation, which no matter how bad, was always more favorable than having to listen to Dist. 

Legretta crossed her arms across her chest," So next comes deciding how to deal with them at Kaitzur. Let's return to the Tartarus for now and consider matters there." She walked away the rest following.

"Inform the troops. First Division, withdraw!" Largo bellowed.

The Oracle Knight saluted, and ran off to inform the units waiting outside of St.Binah. Dist seethed and muttered, "Grrrrrrr! You're all just jealous of my intelligence and beauty!" And with a spin of his Fon Chair(?), he flew away.

* * *

 The party released a simultaneous breath of relief, Tear relaxed against the wall, he postures loosening. Jade let out a short string of curses in a foreign tongue, which sounded relatively a lot like the language once indigenous to the northern region's of the world. 

"Largo survived," Luke said, offhandedly, breaking Jade away from his reverie. Luke felt Jade's gaze land on him, which he did not meet, instead choosing to pet Mieu, who was purring from the affection. The cheagle could feel the tension of the situation in the air, but couldn't bring himself to care much. 

"Yes, it seems he did, and all the God-Generals were here as well," Jade said, adjusting his glasses yet again.

"First I've seen of the Six God Generals." Guy admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"I only counted 5." Ion deadpanned. Luke smirked, he was starting to like this Ion a lot more than the previous Ions, he was a lot more snarky and bold. Or perhaps, he did indeed befriend Sync, and the Tempest was influencing him, not that he complained.

"Yes, there were only four on the Tartarus, it's possible the other two were in separate units further away from the dreadnaught." Tear speculated, rising from he kneeling position and dusting her dress. 

"Who're these God-Generals?" Mieu asked floating up to Tear, who blushed and held back the urge to just hug the baby cheagle.

"They're the executive officers of the Oracle Knights." Ion explained.

"There're the three we met face-to-face on the Tartarus, Legratta the Quick, Largo the Black Lion, and Arietta the Wild," Luke added.

"Then there are the two we saw just now, Sync the Tempest, and Dist the Rose." Guy joined.

"Which means we're only missing Asch the Bloody." Jade surmised.

"Mieu`, but I'm still confused. Those are their names." Mieu complained, sulking a bit. Luke and Ion let out a laugh.

"They're Van's immediate subordinates." Tear explained, "In other words they serve directly under Van."

"Yes, but Van himself falls under Grand Maestro Mohs jurisdiction." Ion countered.  Luke sighed, this was the perfect mix of an argument, one that could possibly get vocal enough to give them away, there was no telling how many Oracle Knights were still left in the area.

**_< Sounds guilty either way.>_ **

_/Ditto./_

"Hey, can we just get a move on to Kaitzur," Luke complained, lifting both himself and Ion from their kneeling positions.  

"Yes, let's."Jade agreed.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but would it be all right if we stopped here to rest?" Ion requested, gripping the tail of Luke's coat. His face was pale, and his eyes were unfocused,  which confused Luke. In the previous loops, Ion only got like this when he used one too many Daathic Fon Artes to often, instead of spreading them out.  

"How many Daathic Fon Artes did you use, your face is getting pale again like before," Luke said.

"I'm sorry..."Ion apologized again. Luke smiled knowingly, "Well we might as well stay the night since Ion isn't feeling well." Jade hummed in agreement and led the way to the inn. As they walked in both Guy and Jade went over to the front desk to get a room for the night, and Tear and Luke saw to getting Ion comfortable in the bed.

Soon after Jade and Guy entered the room. Jade locked onto to Ion," By the way Ion, where exactly did they take you when you were abducted from the Tartarus?"

 "To the Sephiroth," Ion replied.

"They took you to Fon Slots?" Luke questioned, more out of sticking  to the original timeline as strictly necessary.

"Mieu, what's a Sephiroth?" The cheagle asked floating in close proximity to Ion's face. Luke laughed and grabbed the tiny cheagle, "The Sephiroth are the world's ten most powerful fon slots.

"They're the planet's vital points. Places where memory particles, a kind of planetary fuel, concentrate and fonons gather easily." Guy said, continuing the explanation.

"What exactly did they do at the Sephiroth? I can't imagine it being anything good." Tear asked. 

Ion shook his head sadly," I'm sorry that's confidential to the order." Luke let out an irritated sigh, " Well, since we can't do anything about that, and there's still daylight to burn, might as well see what problems we can fix."

"Pardon?" Jade asked, curious to what the noble meant. Luke ignored him in favor of Ion, "SoIon can you list any health issues you've been having, don't ask why just yet, tell me." Ion gave Luke a curious look but explained his symptoms, Luke nodding periodically and asking questions. "Hmm, ya know those symptoms have a lot in common with the one's my mother has, Guy."

The servant in question just nodded, and as he headed to the door, asked," The usual ingredients or do want to add anything?"

"Get a few lemon's and a pomegranate along with the rest of the ingredients."

"You got it." and with a salute Guy left, taking with him Jade, who left out of curiosity of said, 'ingredients.' Tear looked at Luke curiously, and Luke signaled her over, whispering something in her ear, she smiled approvingly and left the room as well.

"Luke what was all that about?" Ion asked. Luke smirked and told Ion he'd find out later.

"What I want to know Ion, is how much you're hiding from Lorelei and me," Luke asked losing his smile, crossing his arms facing Ion. The tension in the room grew thick like smog, and Ion smirked taking one finger and twirling it around his finger.

"Well you know Luke, they saw it fit to bring me back with all my memories for several reasons, which I am unaware of. I do know one thing for sure, I am under Shadow's jurisdiction, Tenebrae, one of his centurions, is the one who guided me through my memories." Ion continued to smirk, a glow of mischievousness in his eyes was plain to see, it was a wonder Jade hadn't caught onto it yet.

"In that case, is it safe to assume you've at least come to an understanding with Sync? Or dare I say, befriended him?" Luke queried.  He was curious to see how everything would unfold from this point onward. Ion nodded, folding one leg over the other," I guess you could say I've established a type of bond with Sync, nothing like the one you and Asch have, but similar enough that Sync is, at least, kind to me. He even tried to convince me through our bond." Luke hummed in approval and relaxed his shoulders going back to his carefree disposition.

Guy entered the room first carrying the bag of materials, and Jade entered next with a book or two, (he couldn't tell), then Tear came back in with a pot of lukewarm water. 

"What do you intend to do with all of this?" Jade asked from the chair he'd chosen as his reading chair. Luke smiled mischievously and waved Tear and Guy closer to help him. The entire process to a little over an hour with Tear taking multiple notes and Guy trying to measure everything to perfection. 

"Well, Luke everything just about done here," Guy called to him. 

"Okay then," Luke turned to Tear, " pour this in and then add a few drops of lemon juice." Tear nodded and pour it in, following with a few drops of lemon juice. She stirred it a bit more before turning towards Luke.

"Now what?" Tear asked this was an interesting experiment, but she failed to see how it would help Ion. Luke was nowhere to be found. 

"I'm back!" he called from the door, holding a tray of shaved ice in one hand, and closing the door with the other.

"When did you leave?" Jade asked incredulously, Luke smirked and moved back to the pot, taking the ladle and pouring one or two on top of each bowl and passing it around.

"What is this ?" Ion asked. Mieu sniffed it and began eating it, letting out a Mieu in delight.

"I fail to see how this helps Ion?" Jade deadpanned.

"It's food that's both good fro your health and good to eat. A lot of the ingredient used are bitter powders and healthy ingredients crushed together, that taste overly bitter and dry on their own. My mother has trouble eating it without gagging. So I figure why not mask the smell and taste. Adding other ingredient's like pomegranate and lemon don't change the effects of the dish itself. They only serve to make it look more appealing." Luke explained before eating it himself.

"Not to mention," Guy began," It also prevents you from getting ill, boosts your immune system, so the court doctor tells us. Suzanne hasn't looked so healthy in ages, he says." 

"Hmm, maybe you should go into medicine." Tear offered. She took a bite of the shaved ice and juice and shivered in delight.

"Mieu, or maybe he should be a chef instead, mieu it's so` good," Mieu spoke eating the shaved ice. 

"Well, I got the whole shaved ice idea from the delicacies served in Keterburg," Luke said, cheeks rosy as he spoke. The group shared a laugh, even Jade joined in by that point.

* * *

Jade was awake when everyone else was asleep. It was just the way his body worked. He was up before everyone else and went to sleep after everyone else.  Jade looked over several notes he's confiscated from the two journals he'd taken from Luke. One was a book about fomicry research, and the other was a medical journal by his teacher. Something wasn't adding up, when he put out the book, he published it under his family name, Curtiss. Luke couldn't have known his old family name.

The there were all these notes linking the two book together. For a 17-year-old boy, Luke was quite advanced, deducing things adults today couldn't figure out. Adding to the mystery was his innate ability to cast high-level artes that most adults found difficult.  And Ion's weak constitution, coupled with what he'd learned from Guy, could both Luke and Ion be...!

And then a painful sensation filled Jade. Everything was pulsing and he could swear he saw multiple visions pass before his eyes. And he heard a voice in his head, melodic and echoing. It kept on repeating in his head, hurting so much a scream threatened to break out, but Jade grit his teeth and persevered. It kept on ringing these words.

**_~~~Akzeriuth, fall, Ion,~~ Van, bad, ~~Asch, good, Luke, key, Tear, Guy, Anise, Ion, and...an~~ unknown ~~woman who was close to Asch....Nebilim!~~~ _ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~The pain subsided and the voice faded out, melodic but still stinging. Jade pulled his hair back, and wondered," What the hell was that?" He looked into the mirror noting how for a split second his eyes seemed to turn a bright gold. This hadn't happened ever, or, at least, the flickering hadn't. The screaming wasn't new, but it had been a while, about 10 years.

One thing was for sure, meeting Luke definitely triggered it in some way.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Ion seems to know a lot about what's going on, and you can see I put in a reference to ToS too. Well till next time, Ja Ne!


	13. Remday, Rem-Decan 27, N.D2018 - Fubras River and Kaitzur Malkuth Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Sup, here with another chapter. So I went to go get my Schedule for the new term today, saw squad. And we are all preparing for Wed. Breakfast, we're gonna play the game, 'Don't Get Me Started.' Can't Wait!!

The party awoke the next morning and convened over the table in the bar. There was a map spread over it. Tear and Jade marking possible places to avoid, using Tear's knowledge as an Oracle Knight to assume where exactly there may be a strong concentration of them. They were more familiar with the land, or, at least, Jade was. Guy was too, to an extent although he'd likely never trust Luke gain if he was outed here by Luke, who originally knew nothing about it. 

On their way out they had a run in with someone who mentioned Akzeriuth, the man mentioned it offhandedly but even so the memories associated with that name all came hurling back. He couldn't have frozen for more than a minute, but Ion pinching him back into posture is what made him realize his tiny slip up.

After bidding the man farewell, and thank you the group made their way to the Fubras River.  And yet again for the second the subject of Anise and who she was floated back around.

"Man, the bridge is out on both ends huh?" Luke whined, sulking.

"Either way, bridge or no, we'd still have get to Kaitzur. It wouldn't have mattered much either way." Guy said.

"Too bad the bridge to Akzeriuth is out, now we'll have to go through the Fubras River by foot." Tear said, thoughtfully.

"The Fubras River is relatively calm this time of year, and the water levels shouldn't be too high either.It's actually the shortest path  to Kaitzur, so depending on how you look at it, you might say we're actually saving time." Jade said from in front of them."

"Then what about this Anise character, you think she made it through safely?" Guy asked.

"Of course, she did." Ion said proudly.

"After all, Anise is Anise," Jade added with a smirk.

"Hmm, I suppose so..." Tear added curiously.

And with that, the conversation drew to a close. With Guy left befuddled yet again," Just who is this Anise anyway?"

* * *

 The group had finally reached the Fubras River, and true to Jade's word it was safer, barring the monsters, and the water level was lower, but still freezing cold.

"Damn," Luke bit out wading through the river, it was still a strong current despite everything and walking through it was difficult."I hear you, Luke," Guy responded to Luke's grunt. Guy probably had a more difficult time, though, he was giving Ion a piggyback, and although no else could see it, Luke swore he saw a mischevious smile behind Ion's normally innocent eyes.' Damn brat.' Luke thought.

Upon reaching the other side, they took a breather, wading through such strong currents was unprecedented. Their break quickly ended and they continued in their way. They reached a pass, and Tear stopped suddenly drawing her spear and flinging her knives, " A Liger...!" She alerted them. They moved Ion out of the way just in time, as they were all packed into one side of the pass.

"Seems there's someone behind them as well," Jade observed drawing forth his weapon as well. Guy let out a subtle string of curses under his breath," It's Arietta the Wild, they found us..."

Indeed, behind the large Liger was none other than the God-General herself, Arietta the Wild. Her pink hair was flared and her red eyes were wide in anger. From behind her doll, she bit out, "I'll never forgive you."

Ion called out to her," Arietta please stop this. You must understand, I can't let this war happen."

" I...I want to help you Ion, but these people...these people...no that person killed mommy!" Arietta yelled pointing at Luke.

Luke turned to Ion confused, although he knew who she was talking about, "I killed her mom?!"

"Arietta they aren't bad people!!" Ion continued to argue.

"I think she'd talking about the Liger Queen," Tear whispered," Arietta was said to be recruited for her innate ability to communicate with monsters because she was raised by them.

"Mommy's home was burned, so she moved into the Cheagle Woods. She was just trying to protect her children... My brothers and sisters... "

"So then it's true..." Tear looked away sadly, she didn't regret having that Liger killed, but to think they caused a little girl to suffer.

"The Liger I killed..." Luke started.

"That was MOMMY!!I'll never forgive you! I'll chase you to the ends of the earth...and kill you!" Arrieta yelled.

"What would you do, Arietta?" Luke asked his entire demeanor shifting.

"Luke what are you...?!" Guy asked not lifting his gaze from Arietta's position.

"What would you do if I told you we tried to negotiate with your Mother, but she got angry and nearly hurt Ion," Luke said hand subtly reaching for his blade. Arietta shook her head vehemently in denial, "No Mommy would never, Mommy would know..."

"And yet she didn't, you may have lost your mother in an inevitable battle that would either end with Ion dead or your mother" Tear added never once lowering her spear.

"No!! NO, NO!!!Mommy would never, you're the ones...!" Arietta continued in her denial. Luke had long since gotten close enough to her and took her by the shoulders, and hugged her close, she fought to be released from his grip, from where they stood it looked like he was suffocating her. In reality he was holding her close, she was one of Van's greatest allies and also could be exploited as one of theirs.

Before coming here, both he and Ion agreed to turn Arietta by exposing her to the 'truth'. He held her close and whispered to her, "Listen to me, Arietta what you just saw was the truth. But, make no mistake this Ion still loves you, same face different memories. "

Arietta shook and he could feel her gripping his coat shaking her head, how desperately she wanted to hold onto the idea that her Ion was still Ion. So Luke forced her away and whispered," Arietta, you saw what you did understand that I didn't have much of a choice, maybe if you were there, or if the Liger Queen knew that Ion was your friend she would've listened. But she didn't, I'm taking you to Kaitzur, Asch will explain everything." Arietta led her tears fall and began wiping them away.

Arietta led her tears fall and began wiping them away. She got up moved past them, walking by Jade, Tear, and Guy, who held his breath in her passing, and hugged Ion tightly. Ion looked a bit shocked but comforted her nonetheless. Jade gave Luke a suspicious look, "What exactly did you do?" Luke shrugged and thought about it for a few moments, " I just did what my mother used to do for me, course I never acted in such a way where I threatened to kill people, but yeah, I just went with my instincts."

Luke shrugged and thought about it for a few moments, " I just did what my mother used to do for me, course I never acted in such a way where I threatened to kill people, but yeah, I just went with my instincts." He thought back to all those times his mother had hugged him to calm him down. He really did just respond instinctually. Nothing really special there.

"It seems a bit odd, though, as a noble don't they try to drill it into you to think nothing of the lower class?" Tear asked. Guy snickered a bit.

"Well they tried to, but they failed, with the princess and I as childhood friends and a kind mother, Luke grew to think highly of the working class." Guy explained. And just then, the ground began to shake and a thick purple cloud began to appear through the cracks in the ground. 

"An earthquake?!" Jade exclaimed trying to remain upright.

"That mist..." Guy observed.

 "It's miasma, try not to breathe it in!!" Tear exclaimed.

"Wait, Tear use 'that' instead," Luke called to her. Tear nodded," Let's both cast it, it should be significantly stronger that way."

"Arietta, hold on." Ion ordered the God-General. Tear and Luke stood back to back, Tear holding her spear vertically, and Luke wielding his blade horizontally, both weapons acting as mediums. 

"O tune of unyielding protection... " they chanted.

"Fonic Hymns at a time like this." Jade scolded covering his mouth, trying to regulate how much miasma he breathed in.

"Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze." they sang.

"Wait for Jade, that's not just any normal Hymn, it's one of Yulia's!" Ion exclaimed holding Arietta back. A sigil appeared beneath their feet and spread out around them before moving up creating a barrier that blocked out the miasma.

"The miasma's disappeared." Guy spoke, flabbergasted. Luke shook his head," No, it's still out there, just not in here."

"It's a basic method of applying a vibration inherently similar to the vibrations of the miasma." Tear explained. Guy stared at here confused," Translation."

"They basically cancel each other out." Luke added, he lifted Arietta onto his back, and Guy took Ion onto his. "The field isn't invincible, though, so we need to move fast." And they did, quickly dispatching any monsters that came by, which went a lot quicker since they had Arietta's liger friend for help.They parted ways after exiting the pass, Arietta riding her liger ahead, and the group taking their time getting to Kaitzur.

"Hold a moment, all of you." Jade ordered, and the group halted in their movements, giving Jade looks of curiosity. 

"Do we really need to, Kaitzur is just over yonder according to Guy," Luke complained, he was entitled to do a bit of complaining, having never walked so much in this loop.

Ion asked Jade knowingly, "It's their Fonic Hymns, isn't it?" Jade nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. I've wondered about them for a while. Thier fonic hymns are different from the ones I know. And, Ion... You say those are Yulia's fonic hymns."  Jade stated. Ion nodded in affirmation. 

"So they are, what of it?" Luke challenged, he was annoyed, Jade always had a certain sharpness to him that made it difficult for Luke to do the things he needed to do.

"Well Luke, as your instructor may have already told you Yulia's fonic hymns are special," Guy explained, "Normally, fonic hymns are just the incantation used in a fonic arte, combined with a melody. They're not as strong as fonic artes."

"But Yulia's Hymn are on a different scale, they're said to hold the same power as Fonic Hymns," Ion added, giving Luke a look that spoke,'You better make up an excuse fast.' Tear glanced at Luke, tilting her head, and Luke gave her a look-back, nodding slowly.

"Well, it is true the both of us employ Yulia's Fonic Hymns in our battle styles. I learned as part of my heritage, being told that my family descended from Yulia." Tear explained. All eyes trained on Luke afterward, Jade's eyes narrowed in suspicion,"And what about you Luke,  how did you come across these Hymns?" Luke shrugged, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Humor me then."

"Well, as a child after the whole 'kidnapping by Malkuth' incident, I was apparently able to absorb a lot more information that thought before. They set about trying to help me through my amnesia. A couple months afterward they tried to jumpstart old memories by having me go through my daily routines, y'know governesses and all that. Eventually, after a few weeks, the governesses had nothing else to teach me, and they wouldn't hire new one's until a while later.

"So I enlisted the help of my cousin, Natalia, in persuading my uncle to send a monthly shipment of books to the manor. The books were on a various number of subjects- and Jade if you don't, believe me, ask Guy, he's the one who had to lug the box of books up the stairs every month." Jade mock false offense, and glanced at Guy who nodded his head, his eyes distant remembering the excruciating task of lugging books back and forth across the manor. The library was located on one side of the manor and Luke's room on the other.

"Ehm, back to the point." Tear motioned for Luke to continue.

"Anyway, since the books were purchased from various shops, often times there was a book or too that was a rarity amongst books. One such copy was Yulia's supposed diary, which I should ask, how it was allowed to be purchased by the Kimlascan family." He glared at Guy because he knew the servant knew something about that, the servant in question avoided eye contact.

"Yulia's Diary made several mentions of the Sephiroth, the Score, and her Hymns. I was only able to teach myself the first one because the meaning behind it was the clearest." Luke let out a breath, so much talking, not enough energy. Mieu floated up to him, struggling to lift a small canteen of water, Luke snickered, and took the canteen easing the cheagles struggle. 

Jade made no move to continue the journey, which irked Luke to no end. 'Let's go, old man, we're losing daylight!!'

<If I ever meet him...>

/Be my guest, I will help you./

"I'll choose to trust you, for now, I'll make my decision after verifying the book when we've made the journey to the capital." Jade finally decided after thinking upon the subject.

"Get in line, Tear called first dibs, besides, she's the descendent do you can get the inside scoop from her. Now let's go!!" Luke exclaimed walking off, Tear and Guy following dragging a confused Fon Master with them. Jade stared at Luke's retreating form and had to hold back that urge that often pulsated in the back of his head.

'Just what is going on?!' Jade thought, briskly walking to catch up with the rest.

* * *

The party entered the Malkuth Checkpoint of Kaitzur, exiting Malkuth territory into a 'demilitarized zone'. There was rest point off to the side for travelers, and a sign for news, warning travelers about certain things: monster attacks, bad weather in some spots, roads. Anything a merchant or traveling party may need to know.

Luke spotted a small blob of pink in the distance talking to a guard posted at the exit.

"Hey, that's Anise isn't it?" He asked Ion, pointing towards the blob of pink in the distance. Ion nodded and the group quickened their pace to catch up with her. As they got closer Luke felt Asch brush his psyche.

/What is it Asch?/

<Pfft, listen to this brat go Dreck!>

/Anise?/

"I've lost my identification, and my passport, too. Please let me through! Please!" Anise asked, playing on her girlish charm, which didn't seem to faze the guard in the slightest.

<Hah, she's been begging for the past hour!>

/She's persistent I'll give her that, by the by, be ready Asch./

<Finally.>

The guard shook his head, turning Anise away, she put on a glum face and began walking away, shoulders and back hunched, face sullen. When she was out of the guards earshot, she murmured under her breath, "Better watch you back."

"Anise," Luke and Ion called simultaneously, Anise snapped her head in their direction, her face lit up with a beaming smile. She ran towards them, "Luke! My Prince!!" Luke reacted by using Ion as a shield, so instead of hugging him, she hugged Ion. Anise pouted but used this to give Ion a thorough pat down.

"I'm glad you're okay Ion, not a scratch on you!!...Or are you hiding one?" Anise asked suspiciously, glaring at the party, Ion assuaged her wrath, " They did a wonderful job in your stead Anise."

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Luke investigated curiously, glancing at Tear who gave Anise the same once over.

Anise gave Luke a strange Luke, narrowing her eyes," Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, we heard you fell off the Tartarus," Guy started, hiding behind Luke.

"While it was still moving." Tear added, bending down to check Anise thoroughly. Ion nodded with an innocent smile, "Yes, the poor thing was thrown out the window, screaming, ' I'll kill you bastards!' as she fell." Anise huffed," Fon Master!! Anyway, I kept the imperial letter safe, so just tell me when you want it, and it's yours." Anise smiled, pointing towards the doll on her back. Jade tilted his head in a thank you.

"Moving on to more important matters, like how we're going to get the letter to King Ingobert, we won't be able to cross the border without a passport," Tear said, "Well most of us don't." Re-evaluating the group's members, they were a ragtag bunch that was for sure. Luke curiously glanced around, " Think if I asked the guard nicely he might point us in the direction of temp. passports." Luke asked walking ahead and pointing at the guard.

/Asch!/

"You won't need one once you're dead!!" Asch yelled, as he seemingly came out of nowhere, and attacked Luke. Luke decided to have some fun with Asch this time 'round and parried. Asch had a feral look in his eyes and a grin, which Luke matched with an equally feral grin. They pushed back against one another neither letting up.

<How much you willing to bet?>

/Hah, we'll have plenty of time to spar with each other, after this is all over./

<Heh, whatever Dreck, I'm still going through with this.>

And Asch did...or at least, he tried, his second attack was halted by Van, who seemingly popped out of nowhere, his appearance put Asch, Luke and Tear on edge. Tear was actually ready to lunge at him, but Luke halted her, "Wait, Tear!" He yelled, moving in front of her. Tear halted, she gazed at Luke confused.

"Asch fall back!" Van ordered after Asch begrudgingly complied, Van turned to Tear and Luke, " Tear please, lower your weapon, you misunderstand, I can't have you harming my student." Tear glared daggers aimed at both Van and Luke.

Guy snickered, " You got that much right, Susanne would send the whole Kimlascan Army on your ass. It wouldn't matter how powerful you were, her anger alone could scare half of Auldrant." Guy laughed, the image in his head all too vivid. The party didn't pay much attention to Guy's words, but one look atVan;s face was enough to put truth to what Guy had said.

"Ehem, well, I'd appreciate if you'd all give me a chance to explain. When you've all calmed down," Van threw a pointed look in Tear's direction, who huffed and looked away," Come to the Inn, there I'll explain everything." With that being said, Van walked away in the direction of the Inn. The group looked between one another, and then all eyes were on Tear, she glared back in response.

"Let's try and understand the situation first without resorting to violence, it would be unwise to let an opportunity like this to slip by." Ion explained to Tear, she thought about it, and then nodded her head in understanding. Ion smiled and began walking in the direction of the Inn, Jade, Anise and Guy following. Luke held back and grabbed Mieu, placing him in Tears arms.

"Here hold Meiu, he'll help you through your frustration," He said, Tear nodded and hugged Mieu, petting his head affectionately, which the cheagle responded to with purring. 

* * *

Van was seated at the table, without looking back at them he called, "Tear, have you calmed down?" Tear made a face, but one glance at Mieu was enough to calm her down, "...Why are the God-General's so intent on kidnapping Ion?" Luke internally snickered.

<Well I wouldn't exactly call that calm.>

/It's as calm as she's going to get, Van will have to deal with it./

Van shook his head, giving Tear a stern look, "Calm down, Tear. I have no idea why the Fon Master is even here to begin with. All I've heard from the Order is that Ion vanished from the cathedral in Daath." 

"I'm sorry Van, I'm afraid I left of my own volition." Ion apologized, he had a sad expression on his face, further adding to his apology.

<The Fon Master is such a lit-

/Little Angel, I refuse to see him as a smug piece of shit!/

<Well you didn't hear what Sync told me, listen three weeks ago->

/SHUT UP!/

"You needn't apologize Fon Master, but I would like a little clarification as to what has happened up to this point." He looked around the room as if searching for answers. Jade stepped forward, "As it was my doing that Ion disappeared in the first place, allow me to explain..."

Jade recounted what had happened on his side of things, occasionally being interrupted by the rest of the group as there were time's they were separated from the rest. At the end, Van closed his eyes kneading the bridge of his nose.

"...I see. I do command the Six God-Generals," he admitted, "but they are part of the Grand Maestro faction. It's likely they are under orders from Grand Maestro Mohs."

<BULLSHIT!!>

/Asch!! Get a move on, staying here and listening in isn't helping./

Guy seeming to have had an epiphany, " I see now. That's why you were recalled to Daath, the Grand Maestro wanted you to steal Ion back from the Malkuth military."

"Yes, perhaps so. The one who attacked you earlier, Asch, is also one of the Six God-Generals. But even I didn't know he was involved in this matter." 

"Then are you saying," Tear began, composing herself, "That you had nothing to do with any of what happened until now."

"No, considering I was unaware of what my own troops were doing, I must take some responsibility. But I don't side with the Grand Maestro faction." Van answered her.

Anis snorted," Well that's news to me."

Van chuckled, "It's true that while I may be the leader of the God-Generals, it does not necessarily mean I side with the Grand Maestro Faction. And on that matter, Tear," he addressed his sister, who glared back at him," You're under the Grand Maestro's intelligence division. Why are you all the way out here in the first place?"

Tear stared at him," The Grand Maestro ordered me to search for something, I'm not permitted to divulge further into the matter."

"It's the Seventh Fonstone, isn't it?"

"...I'm not at liberty to say."

"Please don't tell me, you guys are gonna start a second World War over this, that is if tensions don't snap first," Luke complained. All this talk about war, not to mention he'd been through it multiple times already.

"Meiu, Seventh Fonstone?" the cheagle floated over to Luke, "Master what is the Seventh Fonstone?" Luke smiled.

"It's part of the Score, read by the prophet Yulia 2000 years ago." Tear began, taking hold of Mieu once more.

"The Score was so long, it took up seven fonstones, each the size of a mountain. Eventually, the stones broke apart. Some became the fon belt you see in the sky. Others fell to the earth." Ion continued.

"Then about a two thousand or so years ago, the Fonstones that fell caused strife between the Kimlasca and Malkuth. Reason being that claiming a Fon Stone gave you somewhat a glimpse of the future." Luke added.

"They say Yulia herself hid the Seventh Fon Stone after she herself read the score. For that reason, numerous people have been searching for it."

"Mieu!! Tear has such an important mission!! Good Luck!" Tear blushed but accepted the cheagle's cheers.

"At any rate, I have nothing to do with Mohs. I'll order the Six God-Generals not to interfere with you all, though I don't know how much good it will do." Van said, he turned to leave,  but was halted byGuy.

"What about passports?"

"Oh, yes. Duke Fabre has entrusted me with temporary passports. With the spares I brought just in case, there are just enough for all of you." Passing the passports on to them, he left. Theparty decided to spend the night before moving on, checking out two rooms, one for The guyas and one for the girls and Ion. Anise felt safer knwing she was watching over Ion.

* * *

Tear awoke that night, her sleep broken as always, she stood to go to the bathroom to relieve herself. Completing what she set out to to, she resigned herself to another sleepless night. That is until a strong pounding in her head casued her to falter, she bit her finger to avoid crying out in pain. Gripping the edge of the bathroom sink, she pulled heself up, clutching her head she glanced in the mirror just to check for any  she needed to heal to avoid suspicion.

What she saw, was not what she prepared for. Her naturally blue eyes practically glowed with varying shades of the color. Her hair was tinged sapphire and as it further flowed down, she could see it got lighter. Her skin was normal but tinged a pale sheen on aqua. She stared before shaking her head to look in the mirror, but her shaking only caused more pain, a voice resounded through her head.

Luke, Guy, Jade, Ion, Anise, Asch, ruins, Van, Arietta, moving Chesedonia, Akzeriuth, Grandfather, Yulia City, Daath, Moh, bETRAYAL, fAKE, fONSTONE. HELP!

It reverberated through her skull, once again she raised herself to look in the mirror only finding her own reflection to be staring back at her.

'Just what is going on?!'

 


	14. Lunaday, Rem-Decan 28, N.D2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaitzur Checkpoint, Kaitzur Naval Port, and Choral Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I apologize, I am really sorry. I've been having problems with my family's home computer. So, yeah. Also, I've been having to go to meeting for this competition at school, and I've been grinding in Zestiria and found little to no motivation to immerse myself in the land of Fanfics.  
>  Recently I've gotten into a fairly popular show called Miraculous Ladybug. The two main characters are in a love-square with themselves and their alter egos and I've been fanfic binging 'til 2 a.m every day to get through all 1.3k of them on FF.net. And do you know how adorable these dorks are?!!!  
> And it's very unhealthy, I may also be getting a Windows Surface pro in the near future...or the distant one, either way, I may put up artwork alongside my fanfics once I get it, and updates will possibly be much faster.  
> Again I apologize and kudos to everyone who read this.

When morning hit, the party ate breakfast, deciding to get a head start. They quickly ate their food and began heading for Kaitzur Naval Port straightaway. Heading towards the guard Anise had been pestering yesterday, they showed their passports and were permitted to go through the Malkuth gate and exit through the Kimlascan Side. There they were instructed to show their passports once more for double verification.

The guard nearly did a double take verifying the passports. He saluted, and informed them that King Ingobert had formally instructed for them to be let through.

"How kind of your Uncle," Jade commented, adjusting his glasses. Luke stuck his tongue out childishly, Jade could go and suck it for all he cared.

**_< What part of you exactly?>_ **

_/When will you understand, I DON'T HAVE A THING FOR JADE!!!/_

**_< Sure, but what about that one page dedicated him in your first notebook?>_ **

_/I did that for all of them including you./_

**_< But how come Jade was first?>_ **

_/...Shut up./_

The party entered Kaitzur, Luke ignoring Asch's teasing in the back of his head. His thoughts were interrupted by screaming. Luke ran forward, Tear and Guy not far behind him. They ran close enough to the supposed ferry that was to take them to Baticul. Arietta stood at the top of the boat, the remnants of the boats engine behind her in smoldering ash.

"Gloomieta!!" Anise called angrily, Luke would have to explain to her at some point.

"Gloomieta?" Guy asked, glancing at Anise, his expression confused. Anise glared and kicked him in the shins, "The God-General Arietta, Arietta the Wild!!"

"Okay, I get it!!" Guy yelled back in understanding.There at the docks Van called out to Arietta," Arietta, who gave you permission to do this?!"

"We know it was all you Gloomieta!!" Anise taunted, Luke hushed her, not wanting to antagonize Arietta anymore than she probably already was.  And gave Anise an annoyed look.

"I'm NOT gloomy, you're mean Anise!!" Arietta responded. She spoke to the Commandant with no remorse, and with a straight face (Or the straightest she could muster.), spoke,"I have to take away the engineer who can repair the ship. If you want him back, Luke and Ion have to come to Choral Castle. If they don't come... They'll...kill him..."

Van grits his teeth and released the grip he'd had on his sword.Arietta glared at Luke, her facial features softening, as she nodded, before calling her bird to take her to Choral Castle.As the party felt the rush of adrenaline exit their systems they finally took notice of Van, who walked towards them.

"It seems Arietta kidnapped the engineer, without him we can't repair the ship." He gazed at the ship angrily," We'll have to wait for another ship to make its way back"

"What is this Choral Castle Arietta seemed to mention ?" Jade asked, his interest piqued. Luke would rather give the definition then let Guy reveal himself.

"If I remember correctly from one of my memory therapy sessions with my mother, she told me about the supposed 'vacations' at this vacation house on the coast. Of course, I don't remember anything about the place, other than her mentioning it." Luke explained his expression a little frustrated.

**_< Good Job.>_ **

_/...That means so much, especially since it's coming from you./_

**_<...Oh go jump off a cliff and die. >_ **

_/No, but then I can't be at your wedding./_

**_< What wedding?!>_ **

_/...Yours and Natalia's, brother, are you all right?/_

**_< SHUT THE FUCK UP!!>_ **

"Either way, Luke I want you to stay here, regardless of what Arietta says, I'll take care of the matter myself," Van assure Luke, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder. Luke nodded okay, and Van gave him a smile filled with pride. He stopped by Tear's side and bent low to whisper something in her ear. Tear glared at Van but nodded nonetheless, perhaps he'd asked her to watch over him.

Van left and the party readied themselves to go back to Kaitzur's border stop. There was nothing here. 

* * *

 "Luke, where are you going?" Tear asked as Luke headed in the opposite direction of Kaitzur's border. The redhead in question turned to look at her with shock, " To Choral Castle, where else?!"

Tear and he bantered for several seconds before Guy spoke up, "You know this may not be a bad idea, we should definitely go to Choral Castle."

"What?!" Luke and Tear yelled in unison. Guy backed away from Tear but held steadfastly," Luke spent a lot of summers at Choral Castle, that's also where they found him. If we go there, it could act as a trigger for his memory."

The group thought upon the idea, Luke grinning, all for it. "Well, we might as well go."

"Guy may have a point, besides we'd be killing two birds with one stone this way. We'd do some exploring and nab Arietta, as we should have." Jade said with a grin. And with that, they set off for Choral Castle.

* * *

"Anything?"

"Guy, I don't think memories come back just like that." Luke deadpanned at Guy's frequent badgering. They'd just arrived at Choral Castle, and had begun searching the grounds outside, trying to find Arietta's trail. Anise had smirked when they first arrived, amazed by the Fabre families wealth despite the dilapidated state of the vacation house.

"Maybe going inside will trigger something?" Tear offered coming back from her search unsuccessful. They agreed and headed inside, it was musty and dark. Nothing too bad, though. Some of the wallpaper had already begun to peel off, and the rugs looked as if they'd been eaten through, most likely by rats. Any tapestry once hanging on the wall had long since fallen, and if remained hung on the wall, then it was torn to shreds.

A mouse ran by Anise, and like always, she made a false scream and jumped, aiming for Luke but ending up with Guy. Jumping onto his back with a yell," Aah!"

Reacting violently, he threw her off his back," Augh! Get away!" And fell forward on his knees, protecting his head shaking. Mumbling something to himself. Jade and Luke approached with indifference, Tear and Anise ,a little shocked.

"Well, that was a rather violent reaction." Tear commented. 

"I'm sorry it's just that my body has that sort of involuntary reaction around females in general." Guy explained guiltily, he glanced at Anise from a distance as Luke helped her up," Sorry."

Anise shook her head, dusting her clothes, "It's okay."

"That reaction didn't exactly strike me as a simple aversion to females," Ion stated. Guy nodded and smiled guiltily,"Yeah I know, I know for a fact I wasn't always like this. In fact, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a certain part of my memory being completely blank."

"Selective amnesia," Luke said under his breath, Guy nodded and continued his explanation. Whilst Mieu wandered around, quickly losing interest in the conversation and floating away. Luckily Luke caught him, so there wasn't any need to worry.

"Hmm..." Jade mumbled something under his breath, "Colonel," Anise called, Jade looked up to see the group was venturing deeper into the estate. He shook his thoughts away and followed behind them.

* * *

Luke traced his steps back to the very first life he was here. A turn at this hall and a left there, he recalled entering the room and seeing the large machine that took up so much space he wondered why they didn't notice it from the scaffolding. He heard Jade's audible gasp and sounds of confusion. He didn't look back choosing to head down the flight of stairs, Tear trailing behind him. He and Tear split off and began rummaging around, looking for anything to give a clue as to who was here before.

"How strange to see you so shaken up?" Guy commented, observing Luke and his natural curiosity take hold of him, Luke had been such an oddball after being brought from Choral Castle before he wouldn't really talk to Guy. They'd have short clipped conversations, but that was mostly Guy's fault, he'd still hated him back then.

How thoughtless it had been for Guy, to think only of Luke as the son of Duke Fabre, his family's murderer and not as a curious young noble.

"Well", Jade started, breaking through Guy's thoughts," I'd have to give it another once over to be absolutely sure, but..." Jade's voice faded away, the mage now mumbling to himself.

"Hey, did you guys find anything?" Anise called down to Luke and Tear.

"Nothing of interest." Tear answered making her way back up the stairs.

"Balfour," Luke called again, hoping to get some answers from the man (or, at least, a rise out of the old bastard), Jade responded with a glower ,walking away from the group, mumbling something about moving on.

"He really doesn't seem to like that name," Anise noted following the Colonel, Tear huffed," Luke you should really stop calling him such a name, hee obviously doesn't like it."

"That's why he's doing it," Guy responded to her sadly, shoulders sagging as he skirted around her. Luke may be a respectable Noble of House Fabre, but he was also the genius little shit of house Fabre. Luke grinned feeling a tug on his coat, he looked down to spot Ion, who was giving him a disapproving Luke, and Luke's grin widened. Ion smirked while giving Luke a sour look. 

Ion admitted that seeing Jade so riled up was amusing, but hardly productive towards a healthy relationship."He's going to get back at you one day Luke," Ion mumbled beneath his breath. Luke shrugged his shoulders as if saying, "I don't care."

* * *

The group found themselves going out through a hole in the wall,  leading to a separate sealed off section of the Vacation home, taking the stairs up, they caught sight of the tail of a liger. Luke's body froze as he gripped his blade readily, proceeding up the rest of the stairs with caution. The group taking notice of the liger and Luke's wariness readied themselves, Ion taking a position between Anise and Jade.

Mieu floated by Luke and whispered, "What do I do Master?" Luke whispered back," Just be ready to breathe fire." Mieu nodded and Luke quickly sprinted up the steps, the group calling after him, racing up the stairs he was prepared for one Harpy and one Liger, not a Harpy, Liger and a Garuda. Mieu dispatched the Harpy easily enough but nothing prepared Luke for the  Garuda that relentlessly attacked him in response to him injuring it's Harpy friend. 

Arietta looked less than thrilled at Luke's response but accepted it, but keeping up with impressions, Arietta ordered the Harpy to attack once again, her Liger coming to its aid as well.

Fortunately, Tear and Jade came to his aid, Tear threw a knife infused with earth fonons while Jade drew a circle around them using his spear, backs together they cast," Groundbreaker!!" Jade threw forth a few more knives that nailed the liger in the leg, letting out a deranged howl of pain. Jade striking thrice in powerful succession.

Unfortunately, the Harpy seemed to be perfectly fine as it dove for Ion, Luke jumping in the way, resulting in him being carried away nonetheless. The Garuda, however, lay in a bloody, mangled body as the party headed after the Harpy that had carried Luke away.

* * *

"Well, looks like Arietta's plan worked." Sync said from his position as he saw the replica being carried by the Harpy, Sync found it a bit confusing that the brat wasn't struggling all that much. But there wasn't any time to think about that when the obnoxious existence that was Dist broke through his thoughts.

"Wonderful, the information I could obtain from such a fine specimen. I'll be one step closer to my goal." Luke was unceremoniously dropped onto the Fomicry machine, the two Generals, not even bothering to lock his body in place through artes. Luke internally grinned, oh how the underestimated him.

...

"...Ah, I see. Even the fonon frequency is the same. This is a perfect creation." Dist muttered gleefully, hopefully, Jade wouldn't be too angry with Luke if he'd just murdered Dist right here in cold blood. But then again, how would they get the information they needed at Keterburg, but killing him would solve all the necessary problems they faced at Baticul during the possibly impending war.

'Ah, decisions decisions,' Luke thought. He wondered how Dist and Sync would react to his already open fon slots. 'Maybe a surprise arte would work, besides busting up this machine is probably the best way to hide any evidence Jade could possibly be gathering to prove his personal theory.' He mumbled under his breath,'Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va....'

Sync sucked in a breath turning to Luke, Luke didn't miss his reaction. Sync was stunned that he knew any of those Hymns. Probably because Van was the only one who knew them at all.

"W-what!! Impossible, t-this is simply impossible!!!" Dist shrieked from below.

Sync broke out of his shock, turning to Dist," What's impossible?!" Dist stared at the screen, shellshocked mouth unable to move, throat having gone dry in fear.

The replica already had all his Fon Slots open, none of them were closed, not only that his Fonon output was way beyond that of Jade. And at the thought of such a thing, Dist grew very fearful, this replica...was he really just that. Spinosa was nothing like Jade, and even then Fomicry was flawed, what Spinosa had created was no replica.

"...We have to kill him." Dist muttered under his breath. His body going still, this definitely threw a wrench in his plans. Not only his but Van's, and without the Commandants' plan succeeding.....

"What?! We can't kill him!!" Sync yelled indignantly. They needed the stupid shit, replica or no, he was a key part of the first half of their plan. 

"O violent strains that render demons to ashes..." Luke muttered over their bickering.

"There are more important things to worry about, this...THING needs to die!!" Dist yelled floating above Sync and Luke's body. The scientist threw the 2 data discs at Sync, momentarily distracting the other God-General, and he aimed to kill.

 "Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va..." Luke sang catching Dist of guard," GRAND CROSS!!" From beneath Dist, a circle of Light appeared, and enveloped him, blasting him through the roof, and far away from him.( And hopefully into the sea.)

"LUKE!!" Guy and Tear called in unison, both jumping down from the upper staircase.

"You little-!" Sync yelled, ready to attack him, but was stopped by Tear who threw knives in his direction. Sync cursed dodging the knives but was unable to dodge Guy's inevitable attack. Sync dropped whatever it was he was carrying, he made a grab for one while Guy grabbed the other. As soon as they were in close proximity Guy froze in shock and Sync cursed profusely, jumping back and fleeing.

"Guy..." Luke called, rolling off the large table,"Something wrong?" Guy shook his head no and held out the Fon Disc he'd swiped off of Sync. 

"This seems pretty important. Curious?" Guy smirked waving it in front of the redhead's face, Luke never got the chance to read the information on the disc in his previous loops. So he was practically jumping to read the info. Jade, the damn cockblock, swiped it," We have more important things to worry about than this."

Luke pouted but walked behind the rest of the group alongside Ion, once again approaching Arietta.

* * *

The battle with Arietta was short lived, with Luke's and Anise's artes it was a simple enough feat of defeating her and her beasts. She clutched at her wound, although it was small, it could easily become infectious. Jade didn't seem to care and pulled out his spear," I knew letting her live would come back to haunt us." Raising it above her body, he prepared to deal the final blow.

"Wait! I'll take Arietta back for an inquiry before the Order of Lorelei. So, please, don't take her life." Ion pleaded quickly running up to Jade, Jade considered Ion's words, he began to form a reply but was interrupted by the Commandant.

"Yes, that would be ideal," Van said walking up to them from the stairs. 

"...Master." Luke called, keeping up the act of the loyal student.

**_< I want him dead.>_ **

_/In due time./_

 "There was no word on the Fon Master's arrival in Kaitzur so I came here just in case..." Van trailed off, not needing to state the obvious. Ion bowed his head in shame, "I'm sorry." Van shook his head, dismissing Ion's apology, "There's no point in dwelling on what's already been done. I'll take Arietta into my custody. Is that all right with you?" Ion nodded his head," Yes, please do, and please treat her wounds."

Van took action immediately, picking up Arietta's prone body, and walking away with her. Guy, however, stopped him in his tracks,"How do you plan to explain her crimes to His Majesty and the military?"

"We will follow proper Order procedure, punish her, and issue a report. That's how lawful society operates." Ion explained.

" I have soldiers and a coach from Count Almandine, the Kaitzur commander. I'll escort the maintenance chief home as well," Van explained to the group, "What will you do, Ion? I'd prefer you to come with me, but..." Van trailed off, eyeing Jade warily. 

"It seems some of us are interested in this castle, but..." Ion trailed off, casting a glance at Luke, Luke nodded slightly, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Jade, Guy,or Tear.

"We'll walk back, it'll be a while until the boat is repaired right, might as well take our time," Luke said. Ion clapped his hands, "It seems we'll meet you at Kaitzur later Van." Van nodded and headed back the way they came.

Luke watched Van leave, Asch felt like a ghost in the back of his mind. Almost tangible, as if he was right next to him, but Luke knew he wasn't there.

**_< I can't wait to kill him.>_ **

_/You'll get your chance, so Akzeriuth or in Baticul?/_

**_< Akzeriuth, I want to crush him right at the most critical part of his plan.>_ **

_/A win-win situation then, I'll be seeing you./_


	15. Ifritday, Rem-Decan 27, N.D2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to be updating as often as possible, I swear to you. And I mean every story, as some of you who follow most of my stories know, I deleted one to keep my work list short. And I've been updating every story one cha[ter at a time. Next up is a new chapter for 悲惨さに笑う(Laughing in Misery). Hope you enjoy this chapter. Comment, and for first timers hit that subscribe if you're a member, leave a kudos if you liked it, I love answering questions, so leave a bunch.  
> And if they happen to be bullshit questions, just expect bullshit answers.  
> Just saying, flamers...I have nothing to say to you. Other than if you're still reading to hate on me, have fun with that bro.

The group had wandered around Choral Castle for a bit longer, scrounging around for more clues as to what the God-Generals were doing. Nothing substantial could be found, nothing incriminating at least. And the Fomicry Machine had been busted by Luke's Hymn. Jade cast a glance at Luke, he looked a tad angry at Luke, and a tad thankful. He nodded his head in thanks and Luke inclined his in response.

"So Luke, what arte did you use to bust this up so bad?" Guy asked, gesturing to the machine. Luke blushed a little, Guy was putting him on the spot. He scratched absently at his cheek," Nothing much, just one of the Hymns Tear taught me." At the mention of her name, Tear perked up, blushing a bit herself at the sudden amount of attention. The group snickered, all except Jade who had his eyes trained on the pair.

* * *

They took their time making their way back to the naval port, there wasn't anything else they could do at Villa anyway. As soon as they entered the two men who worked under the chief engineer thanked them profusely. Offering gifts as thanks, Ion refused them stating it was the duty of the order to do such things. The men again thanked him for everything, passing on a message from Van.

" Oracle Knights Commandant Dorian General Van Grants gave me a message for you. Dorian General Grants if currently meeting with Lieutenant General Almandine, commander of the Kaitzur area. He would like you to come to the meeting hall later, at your convenience. As for the ship, repairs are proceeding smoothly."

Luke nodded his thanks," Keep up the good work." The men saluted and ran back to work on the ship.

* * *

Having made their way to the guest quarters of the port, the group intruded upon a meeting between Count Almandine and Van. Count Almandine, the man would surely be disappointed to see that Luke didn't remember him.

**_< You could always fake it with my help.>_ **

_/That would attract too much attention from Van!/_

**_< So?>_ **

_/Do you want him dead or not? If we're going to play our cards right, we need to attract as little attention as possible./_

**_< Tch.Whatever Dreck.>_ **

_/Brother is so cruel...I'm gonna tell mom when this is all over./_

**_< If Father doesn't accept you, I'm instigating a coup.>_ **

_/BROTHER!! <3/_

"Ah Luke, it's good to see you again!" Count Almandine said. Luke gave him a confusing glance.

"Don't you remember me? I visited your mansion in Baticul once when you were young. I'm Almandine." He tried to jog Luke's memory, Luke shook his head sadly," My apologies,  I don't remember you."

Count Almandine smiled sadly," Oh well, you were quite young at the time so it's not that much of a deal." 

"Fon Master," Van addressed Ion with a salute,"I've informed Count Almandine about the incident with Arietta."  Ion flushed and turned to bow in apology," Please forgive my servant and pardon any mistakes she has made, I beg of you!" Count Almandine nodded his expression grave,"

Count Almandine nodded his expression grave," I hope that I can expect Daath to deal with this in good faith?" His tone was serious, but Count Almandine was a pretty boisterous and blunt person, he was definitely teasing Ion. Luke interrupted before Ion could further embarrass himself.

"Say, Count Almandine, is it alright if I send a message to my Mother?" The Count nodded,confused," Yes, of course, I'll let the men at the station retrieve a carrier pigeon for you, what would the message entail?" 

"I'm afraid it's a rather personal letter to my Mother, I'll quickly write it up and send it out myself." Count Almandine seemed a bit surprised," A-all-right if you say so." Luke left the room, heading to the inn, not staying to hear any of what the group had left to say. They'd most likely chalk it up to worrying about his Mother...at least Guy would cover for him that way. 

Jade was a bit of a wild card, though. The Necromancer would not doubt question his behavior, even use Guy gynophobia against him for answers. Oh well, he'd burn that bridge when he got there.

* * *

"Mieu I need you for a moment," Luke called from the desk he sat at. It was late in the afternoon, when Luke had finished writing both letters, the rest of the group had come to their rented room to find Luke hard at work, choosing his words carefully, and taking his time to talk to his Mother. He'd written a shorter letter for his Father in Kimlascan military code. That was attached to his Mother's letter. Her five-page long letter.

Luke was adding the finishing touches before remembering that his Mother had enjoyed having Mieu's company within the house, said cheagle who was cuddling in Tear's arms floated over the minute he was called.

"Mieu, yes master?" Luke carefully brought the ink bottle closer to the tiny creature. 

"Can you dip one of your paws in ink, I want you to sign this letter." The cheagle tilted his head, confused but did as he was told, signing the letter with a paw print.

"Aw, Luke that's so cute." Guy teased.

"I'll set Anise on you."

"I take it back. You're evil." Luke replied by sticking his tongue out childishly, Mieu had signed the paper with an inky paw, the cheagle was confused, twitching his ears about, Luke chuckled at this using a handkerchief to wipe away remaining on Meiu's paws. Folding up the letter in the sealed envelope, Luke attached it to the carrier pigeon and sent it on its way.

* * *

Guy woke up in the middle of the night like he always had, to check on Luke. Since Luke had been brought back from Choral Castle seven years ago, he'd been different. 

The Luke of 8 years prior was not as interested in current politics and studying Fon Artes and Fon Tech. The Luke of 8 years prior did not care for his ability as a Seventh Fonist, not at all interested in furthering his expertise in the subject. The Luke of 8 years prior was not at all interested in finding a way to better the health of his mother, he cared for her yes, and did his best not to aggravate her illness further. The Luke of 8 years prior did not hold any interest in being a Hymnist. That Luke was obedient and respectful of Van. He was his father's son and Guy had despised that Luke.

The Luke of 8 years prior was entirely the opposite of the Luke of now. This Luke had made an effort to get to know Guy, he gave his all in a fight with Van, he'd outright disobeyed his father sometimes. This Luke was most definitely not the Luke of 8 years prior. This Luke snuck out to practice Fon Artes, spent time in the kitchens to make something for his sick parents, or serve them breakfast in bed on holidays.

He'd taken a vested interest in righting the wrongs of the country and it's system. A boy who was not permitted to step one foot outside of his closed off Manor, allied with his cousin and fiance, and planned. Luke was spoken well of, from the castle halls down to the docks, not once had they seen his face, and they loved him, the words that Natalia used to describe him were truth, and the people of Baticul awaited the day they could finally meet him.

Guy was in the bathroom, setting out to relieve himself since he was already up and about. When he'd finished and washed up, a faint echo in the back of his head made itself known and pounded relentlessly against the walls of his skull. The faint words repeating never changing.

**_~~~Akzeriuth, fall, Ion,~~ Van, bad, ~~Asch, good, Luke, key, Tear, Guy, Anise, Ion, and...an~~ unknown ~~woman who was close to~~ Asch....Mary!! _ **

Guy released his head as the pain subsided, his knuckles white from his grip, he let out shaky shuddering breaths, raising himself to look at the mirror to check for any injuries.  He was met only with a bewildered look as deep amber eyes and slightly tinted deep brown hair was what was reflected in the mirror, looking away and back again. His normal features glanced back at him. 

He chuckled nervously, making his way back to bed shakily. He closed his eyes, as his mind permitted him one night of restful sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, and if you're fans of any of the other fandoms I'm writing in, please go ahead and read and comment on those stories too.


	16. Undineday and Sylphday ,Rem-Decan 28-29, N.D2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it's been so long since I've seen you lovelies. HI~!...  
> Well, now with that out of the way, I've done my affectionate greeting. As any who've played the game or watched the gameplay and/or the anime, know that we're going to be covering the journey across the Katsbert Ferry and events in Chesedonia, depending how generous I'm feeling I may just gloss over the entire trip on the ferry and Chesedonia and skip to the ride towards Baticul.  
> Depends if the chapter saves the way I want it to.

As Rem made her presence known by shining her light through the window in the early hours of the morning, Luke found himself rousing before everyone else, well a few minutes before everyone else, as he exited from the washroom, feeling less groggy and more refreshed, he saw the members of his group waking up one at a time. 

Luke snickered upon seeing Ion's bed hair, passing him a hairbrush on his way to the men's washroom(They were resting in the BARRACKS after all.) The young Fon Master blushed and thanked him, before heading into the washroom. Luke chuckled to himself some more as he began to put on his garments,he'd slept in his usual black crop shirt and baggy black pants.

They didn't smell and he'd freshened up quickly while he was in the bathroom, so hopefully he smelled decent.(Hopefully.) It was an uneventful morning, nothing interesting happened, and there's no way he'd received a reply to his message at, giving a glance to the clock, 9 in the morning. So Luke resigned himself to waiting for the rest of the party to dress.

* * *

They'd already eaten breakfast, and were on the Katsbert Ferry, they'd have to make a stop at Chesedonia, and probably get Astor to analyze the discs. That meant they wouldn't reach Baticul for another 2 days at best. He sighed staring at the ceiling and absentmindedly petting Mieu.But the cheagle had abandoned him for Tear, the little shit, adding on to his boredom.

Luke would've gone outside earlier, but he was waiting for Lorelai to hit him with an update...nothing. Luke blew a raspberry and decided no was the perfect time to leave the room. He'd just have to induce a Hyper-resonance later if Lorelai didn't come through.There wasn't much of anything to do on the Ferry, and though he should've been more astounded by the view of the ocean, but he was astounded enough back at Choral Castle. 

Exiting the room, Luke went up the stairs and bumped into Guy, the blond had probably been waiting for him, or contemplating how to start this conversation, "Do you remember when the two of us first met ,Luke?"

"No," Luke thought it over," Well, I remember the moment I first saw you if you can count my return to the manor as my 'first' memory of you. I don't remember when you first came to work at the manor." Guy accepted his answer.

"Yeah, you're right, I mean you're completely different from back then," the blond mumbled.

"Huh?" Guy noticed his confusion, quickly jumping to respond to Luke," Nothing, just glad you're you is all."

Luke threw a wry smile his way," Well who else would I be." As Guy gazed at Luke's departing back, he whispered,"Someone I once yearned to kill."

Luke may have acted innocent to Guy's muttering, but he'd heard the mantra of Guy's back at the manor when he was younger. something about death to Fabre, death to the King and other somesuch, the redhead didn't concern himself over that, though, he had more pressing concerns to attend to, besides he'd ended up being good friends with Guy.

Luke ended up being stopped by Jade next, the scientist started to ask," What would you do...?" He trailed off, but Luke had anticipated the question, whether or not he should answer it or not, he didn't really know if he should.

"What would I do...what?" Jade shook his head, "Nevermind." Luke shrugged his shoulders but kept an eye on Jade as he walked up to the main deck. He came across Anise, Tear and Ion next.

Ion threw a cautionary glance back at him, probably warning him against doing anything too bold or too stupid, but ultimately chose not to address him.

"Oh, Luke~! I have a question for you!!" Anise called after him as he walked by, he cringed wanting to walk away and pretend he hadn't heard her ,but it would be rude to ignore her,

"Yes?"

" What do you think of Tear?" Luke thought about it, he'd never really answered  this question properly, just tried to avoid it, he couldn't really say what his type was since he'd only ever dealt with few females on this journey. Tear was very thorough and honest, and honesty was all well and good, but some people preferred the lie's to the truth. She was very blind to things around her, though. A trait she'd tried and failed to rid herself of, but it was admirable how hard she tried. 

In all honesty, all the women he'd dealt with were either teaching him or trying to kill him. And or abandoned him as a result of his childish impertinent behavior.

"Well, in the short time we've traveled together I can honestly say she's like the sister I've never had," Luke responded, upon seeing Anise's eyes glint in delight he added,"Same with you squirt, I mean if we were siblings we'd probably fight over stuff all the time, physically might I add."

Anise ignored the sister comment. and huffed in," What's that supposed to mean?!"

"That you're...a capable girl who wouldn't back down from a fight." Luke quickly answered, 7 lifetimes and he still didn't get women.

Anise blushed and buried her face in Tokunaga, squealing in delight, Luke took this as an initiative to leave as quickly and quietly as possible.

Luke bumped into Tear in his haste, they both fell unceremoniously on their rumps clutching their red foreheads in pain.

"Ow~!What's the big idea Tear?!"

"I could ask you much the same."

"Running from Anise."

"Ah...why?" Luke paused, how did he tell Tear, who could possibly be crushing on him, which he hoped she wasn't, that he and Anise discussed what he thought of her. Would she be disheartened to hear that he thought her only as a sister, or would she be delighted to note the level of trust and closeness he'd placed her on? 

"Well...why were you running from Anise?" She probed again, after 5 minutes of silence from him.

"Um...she asked me what I thought of you?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"And..."her curiosity now piqued,"What do you think of me?"

"Verbatim, I said'in the short time we've traveled together I can honestly say she's like the sister I've never had'," he said quietly without hesitation, and now that he'd said it he refused to meet her eyes...at first. Eventually, he met her gaze, and though her facial expression hadn't changed, her eyes glowed with happiness. 

She didn't make any comment. That's what weirded him out, she just pats his head and walks away.

Pat his head and walked away, he swore he could see flowers, the atmosphere around her giddy. Luke seriously didn't understand women sometimes.

* * *

Luke waited on the deck that leads to the control room, he watched as the tiny outline of the Kaitzur Port grew smaller and smaller until he couldn't see it anymore. He was bored, and Jade not asking him the question he'd always asked him, put him off. He'd done everything that happened the first time...well almost everything, he knew his shit, this time, around so Tear didn't have to come and explain what being a Seventh Fonist meant.

Not only that, in the past few weeks, whenever he wasn't asleep, Asch and he had lengthy, meaningful conversations. He'd felt he was finally getting somewhere in the fragmented broken relationship of Replica and Original they'd held. Somewhere along the line, all the hatred and disgust Asch had always felt for him in every other life, dissipated, whittling away until all that was left was a rivalry. (Which honestly, wasn't even much of a rivalry, he never like Natalia in such a way and he never would.)

Luke laughed quietly to himself over the small micro analyzation of the dynamics of their so-called "brotherhood". Well, he was laughing at the analyzation and the dolphins he saw bump into each other. Silly dolphins- oh wait, nope they were mating, he was watching dolphins mate, now would be a good time to look away.

"What seems to be bothering you?" Jade asked as he walked up from behind him, Luke responded plainly," I just mistook mating for playing."

"...What?" Jade didn't know how to respond to that, "Never mind that, about what I wanted to ask you earlier. What would you do..if you weren't..." Jade hesitated if his findings were correct, how would he explain the things he'd seen and heard him do, who actually perfected Fomicry, no who actually continued with the study of Fomicry.

"What would I do if I weren't what?"

"If you weren't you?" Jade finished, he stared at Luke expectantly ,said redhead stared at the sky leaning against the railings, he spared a thoughtful glance at Jade," Well that would entirely be dependent on my situation wouldn't it?"

Jade was taken aback, he wasn't expecting such a deeply thought out , neutral answer, "Beg pardon?"Luke gave a wry smile and continued, "Well depending on the type fo life I lead, type of place I grew up, and considering several other key factors, my situation could be just about any ones. I could've been a pilot on a ship like this or one of the mechanics, maybe I could be recluse living in the woods, the possibilities are endless."

"Are we not factoring in that you're a Seventh Fonist?' Jade asked again in a different tone, he was concerned about his mental state, not all replica's made it out as fit as a fiddle, some went crazy in a number of days, and Luke had been alive for 7 years, were there any mental incidents that were haphazardly brushed beneath the rug? What secrets laid buried behind those closed doors to the Fabre mansion?

Luke gave Jade an annoyed look," Listen, Balfour," Jade visibly twitched, "My being a Seventh Fonist was, according to Natalia and Guy, kept hidden from me until **_after_** I returned from Choral Castle. The very notion that I had an affinity for any of the fonon's wasn't exactly ever told to me.

"It's sad really," he continued looking away from Jade," I've probably been kept under such guard simply because I'm a Seventh Fonist. We're not exactly all that common you know." 

Jade didn't know how to respond to such cynicism, so he looked away, muttering," Thank you for you time." As he left. Passing by Van, Luke didn't have to turn around to know what was coming next.

* * *

** CHESEDONIA-Malkuth Entrance **

**_< You know Dreck, I didn't think it possible to hate Van anymore...>_ **

_/Yeah, how manipulative he really grates on my nerves.Just as much as Father's responsibility speeches do./_

**_< Pfft-YOU UNGRATEFUL CHILD!>_ **

_/You know what, I liked it better when you hated me./_

**_< Excuse me for having a sense of humor now>_ **

_/Hey, when you hated me you at least had a sense of humor./_

**_< You little->_ **

"Master!Master!" Mieu called after Luke, floating in circles around Luke's head. Luke chuckled, "Yeah?"

"There's so much sand! It's a new city!" The cheagle floated around, flitting about quickly. Luke caught hold of him, and tossed him in Tear's general direction," Yeah it is, but it's also really hot , which means if you keep doing that, you'll get tired real quick. Stick with Tear okay?" Meiu nodded and grinned at Tear, who nuzzled the cheagle.

Luke grinned at the pair. Van walked by the group in the direction of the Order branch stationed in Chesedonia, "This is where I bid you all farewell, I must leave to turn Arietta over to the inspector in Daath."

Van turned to Tear, and nodded," I leave Ion in your hands, Tear." Tear nodded stiffly, choosing not to verbally respond, Van didn't say anything, but Luke could've sworn he saw a flicker of sadness in Van's eyes as he left. Luke stared between the siblings curiously, even after the rest of the group walked away. 

Maybe there was more behind Van's actions than what was presented to him on the surface.

* * *

Luke never really paid much attention to the bazaar in Chesedonia, last he was here. It was hot alright, but the number of fur's and goods on sale were nice to look at. They didn't need to go to the consulate immediately, so they took their time. 

"Looking for something to buy~?" Luke felt a hand on him, one feeling up his skin in a sultry manner and the other  feeling around for his coin bag. Luke felt several glances on him, that of Tear, and the jealous gaze Anise.Jade's smirking and Guy's amusement. Although the last two were amused for entirely different reasons altogether.

"Well," Luke decided to play along, for now,'Yeah actually, my mother's become ill while I've been away so I decided to get some medicinal materials while I was here, and I thought I should get her something else along with it." The lady in pink, Noir, if he was remembering correctly, felt around some more. 

"Oh, I do hope she gets better." She was searching a little more frantically now, not that Luke was supposed to notice. 

"Well, she will, with the medicinal herbs I've gotten, also, if you're looking for my money pouch, you're outta luck, I gave it all to Guy." He gestured towards the blond, who moved out of the way of a short bearded man with a peg leg.(York, and what was the eye-patches name again?)

Noir, jumped away from him like she was burnt, and she probably would be if she stuck around any longer. She and York, ran off to join a man on the roof. The man with and eyepatch declared,"...You've got some guts making enemies of the Dark Wings. You haven't heard the last of us!"

Luke snickered in delight, "Ah, uncovering thieves and making fools of them is always fun." 

"How would you know," Guy asked, tossing Luke his wallet," You've never been outside the manor."

"Hey, there's a first for everything." The bickered between themselves some more, before they dragged Tear into the argument, who seemed to have a very passionate argument to make about the situation.

* * *

They'd finally made their way to the Kimlascan Consulate, only to find they'd need to wait a bit longer than they anticipated. The group pondered on what to do until Guy offered that they get the Fon disc analyzed, the information on the disc could prove to be useful. They were instructed to head towards Astor's place, the head of Chesedonia's Merchant Guild.

"Make sure to ask for three copies,"Luke instructed Guy. Guy looked at him incredulously,"HAH?! Why three, two should be sufficient enough?"

"Please."  
"Okay...Fine."

* * *

Their visit to Astor was...entertaining. The man was as eccentric as the inside of his house, boisterous and courteous. Luke never knew what to make of the merchant, although it was rather convenient that Chesedonia was one of the two places on earth where allegiances were not taken into consideration, the other place being Yulia City. But that had more to do with the destruction of Hod more than anything.

Still, though, the residents of Yulia City were neutral, their main purpose in life was making sure to guard and watch that the Score came to fruition. 

By the end of it, the group was tired, Luke was still pleased, though, he got a copy of the info and couldn't wait to go through it, what did the Fon Disc have to say bout him and Lorelai he wondered. Maybe it contained info about his Fon Slots and whether or not they were open, maybe it contained more in depth info about the state of his Fonins, that would surely be useful later.

They were making their way towards the boat at the Kimlascan port when Luke recalled that Sync would try and retrieve the Fon Disc. Should he let him and block the hit that was coming for Guy? He didn't exactly have a large window for strategy because in that moment Sync chose to strike. 

"Huh- Guy!!" Luke called for the blond, who swiftly countered Sync's strike with a large flourish, pushing against the God-General. Sync struck again, his leg went to trip Guy and knock him off balance, but Guy anticipated it to an extent, and avoided the feint, "Hand those over!" Sync ordered clawing at the reports on Fon Disc, he managed to grab the Fon Disc but nothing else, since Tear threw one of her knives at the God-General.

"We shouldn't cause a scene!" Jade yelled pulling Guy back physically, the blond complied, shooting a thankful glance at Luke,"To the ship!" Luke threw a single fireball arte at Sync, giving about a three-minute window of opportunity. They were running frantically, and as they hastily boarded the boat the guard failed to take notice of any of this.

"Master Luke, departure preparations are complete." The soldier saluted as  Luke ran past him, the redhead shook his head," No time for that, just get this ship moving, we're being pursued." The soldier was visibly taken aback, but as he glanced in the direction that the party had come from, he could see the outline of Sync getting larger and larger rapidly.

Hastily he signaled for the boat to get a move on, which thankfully they complied, Sync only reached after the boat had been afloat for 5 minutes, well out of his reach. No matter, he got what he came for, he'd leave the rest up to Dist.

* * *

In the safety of the cabin, the group let out a sigh of relief in escaping their captors.

"Damn, he got part of the documents AND the disc itself." Guy bemoaned the loss of possibly valuable information, tearing up a bit. Luke pat his back, poor Guy..."Here Guy you can have my copy."

...

"Oh yeah, I had a copy made for you. It's okay everyone, all hope is not lost."

"Yet," Luke added walking over to a corner of the room and began reading the second half of the documents. 

"Do you understand any of that Luke?" Anise asked from where the group still stood. Luke glanced up from the documents," Huh, well yeah, after the kidnapping seven years ago, I sped through most of the revision lessons given to me by the governesses, as well as future lessons that they weren't supposed to teach me until much later." He returned to the text, huh, most of it was the numbers consistent with Lorelai's fonon frequency, and how compatible Luke was with it.

The rest was just about his blood type, and Fonin count, how synced up he was to Lorelai, and whether or not his Fon Slots were open or not. Hells yeah they were open, open and well used.

"Luke sped through his lessons at a pace that astounded everyone," Guy continued, passing the documents to Jade and taking a seat next to Luke," He had trouble remembering his past associated with familiar faces,he can't remember people or memories associated with them. But his learning pace has increased tenfold, not only that he's been studying on a level equivalent to a military scientist."

"I find that hard to believe," Jade muttered, scanning over the words in the documents. Anise squealed in delight, probably from the fact that Luke had not only money, and looks but he had smarts to back it up. Tear simply rubbed at her forehead in annoyance.

"So Colonel, Luke," Tear addressed both men,"what are the contents fo the documents?"

"Looks like isofon research. 3.14159265358979322946... This is Lorelei's fonon frequency," Jade's voice grew a bit grim.

"So what're they trying to do?" Anise asked, "They couldn't **_just_** be studying isofon's that's pretty common."

Luke shifted through the papers some more, looking for anything incriminating, but these were all facts he'd already known," Well whatever it is, it certainly has something to do with whatever's in my blood. All these test results show scans for abnormalities in my blood Fonins, which look now different than what the doctor told me three weeks ago." Luke huffed in dismay and handed the documents over to Guy, that was a complete waste of time.

Guy pat his shoulder," It's okay Luke, we'll get you a new book when we're in Baticul."  

"You know they could be using the info for weapon development, I heard about this process called 'Fomicry' that they used to make perfect isofon's long ago- and-!"Anise was cut off.

"Mieu, what are iso fon's, what' a frequency?" The cheagle interrupted , twitching his ears in agitation and confusion. Luke chuckled, taking Meiu's growing confusion in stride," Well every living thing emit's a certain Fonon Frequency or...energy I guess, you getting this so far?" The cheagle nodded floating around repeating what Luke had said, Tear gently pulled Mieu into her arms and continued, "Isofons are two entities that have the exact same fonon frequency. Of course, they don't exist unless artificially created."

"A good thing they're not common either if they were we'd have Hyper-Resonances all over the place," Jade added returning to the documents.

"Like I was saying before, that "fomicry" technology they worked on a long time ago can make isofons, right?"

"Like a copy machine right-"

"Nope," Luke stated.

"Huh, why not?" Anise whined.Luke gave her a look, a look that spoke volumes of pain before he answered,"Replicas created through fomicry are mere imitations. A replica may look identical, but its fonon frequency is different. One can produce isofons that way, though."

They continued to argue on the subject of Fomicry, Luke arguing against it, and Anise arguing against it, an argument Jade had decided to stay out of, Tear noticed. She was about to ask what was wrong, when a Kimlascan Soldier burst in, " Emergency! A large- Gah!!" Before he could even finish his sentence, a sword cleaved straight through, quickly ending the life of the Kimlascan Soldier. And the floor was painted a deep red.

* * *

It was a bloody sight,as cliche as that sounded, it was exactly that. An abundance of soldiers, Kimlascan and Order were littered on the deck, blood was everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Luke couldn't understand it, was Dist that much of a Reaper. Or could this be his retaliation to what he saw in the scans of Luke's body?

"Ah, so the Necromancer deigns to grace us with his ghastly appearance," Dist drawled from his seat, hovering in that chair as always, making machines fight for him. Jade eyes narrowed in suspicion, a twinge of disgust, and sorrow did he think himself responsible for all the events that led up to today?

"Dist, it's been a while," Jade addressed him, he held up the documents he'd previously been reading, "I assume you're here for these?" Dist quickly snatched them away, "Indeed, I am, but it wouldn't matter whether I obtained them here or lost them, you've already read all the contents."

Jade didn't even respond, he merely drew his spear, at the ready to fight," For the lives lost here today. "O admonishing melody, arise in the name of the Necromancer! Mystic Cage!" It probably wouldn't kill him, as fights like this never did. Nothing except Nebilim. And that was not something, Luke was ready to see yet.

* * *

As short lived as the battle had been, ending before it really even began, it was something Luke tried to keep the furthest from his mind. Had the happenings within his body shook Dist so much that he no longer had a sense of morality, those Oracle Knights seemed to be intent on killing him more than they seemed in capturing Ion.

Whatever Dist's reasons were, no one slept easy that night. Luke could tell, because he heard, Anise crawled down from her bunk and into the one with Tear, Ion had decided to bunk with Guy to help keep the bad dreams away. Jade was the only one not in any of the bunks inside the eight bunk room.

Everyone else was fast asleep, unaware of the sloshing of the janitor trying to wipe away the spilled blood, poor guy. Jade sighed from his seat by the window, "Luke, I hope you don't need someone to sleep next to."

Luke chuckled wryly, "Rather the opposite really, I'm hoping the events of today didn't shake you, you seemed to know Dist...Balfour."

"You're really fond of irritating people aren't you?" Jade bit out, casting Luke a cold glare.

"Pretty much the only thing to else to do at the manor," Luke admitted, "I'm not permitted to practice artes anymore." This seemed to pique Jade's curiosity," Oh, do tell." Luke rearranged his pillow so he was leaning against the wall, "Well, one time I was practicing an extremely difficult arte and..."

Luke's rambling took Jade's mind of heavier thoughts until the pair both drifted off in their beds, their shoulders lighter and minds clearer.

* * *

**BATICUL-Port Entrance**

"Woah is that Baticul?!" Anise gasped, looking at Luke for confirmation. The redheaded noble shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me, first time I've been outside the manor in...seven years." Luke counted. Anise looked appalled, Tear as well,"You weren't permitted to walk within the city you lived in."

Luke shrugged again," Well yeah, the whole kidnapping incident, threw my mom's illness into an even worse condition than before, she worried I may be kidnapped again, and my Uncle and Father are worried that if I am taken again, the illness may really take her life."

Tear and Anise backed down in shame, even as logical as Luke made it sound, it didn't seem like it would warrant something so extreme it was practically house arrest. Guy chuckled from beside Luke, who swatted at him in annoyance.

"Well, welcome to the heart of the Kingdom of Kimlasca, the Capital of Light, Baticul," Guy introduced them in lieu of Luke, covering for the redhead. At the docks, they were greeted by Commander Goldberg and Brigadier General Cecille.

"It is an honor," the Commander stated, offering a Luke a salute, and it probably was, no one had seen hair nor hide of Luke ,EVER, "I am Goldberg, commander of the 1st Division, Kimlasca-Lanvaldear Royal Forces. Congratulations on your safe return." Guy nudged Luke, much to the redhead's annoyance, "Looks like the announcement of your return has garnered quite a crowd." He gestured to the large crowd of crewmen, and other lower class citizens who'd dropped what they were doing to come and meet one of the two members of Kimlascan Royalty that had helped them acquire jobs and decent wages.

Goldberg paid them no mind. Continuing, "A carrier pigeon arrived with the message you'd sent from Kaitzur. You stated you were traveling with an emissary of peace from the Malkuth Empire." He gave their group an inquisitive look as if he would be able to spot the emissary of peace at first glance. Ion pushed his way between Tear and Anise and ran around Luke, casting a grateful glance towards Luke.

"That would be me. I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. I bear a letter from His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Peony the Ninth of the Malkuth Empire. May I ask for an audience with His Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth?" Ion asked politely. Goldberg nodded, and they discussed arrangements, Guy nearly slipped up in his recognition of Cecille who was his cousin. 

And Jade's presence certainly didn't help any. It was only when they addressed Luke again that Luke re-entered the conversation. "Luke, I realize that you may want to return to the manor, but Duchess Fabre requested to meet you at the castle, that medicine you made her seemed to work wonders, she hasn't looked so healthy in years!" Goldberg's words were music to Luke's ears, not only was his mother healthy, but she was willing to go through with the plan.

"Oh well...it was nothing special, it was just some herbal remedies," getting praise for this kind of thing, wasn't something Luke wanted to be made known. Van may get suspicious.

"Regardless, you're parents have ordered me and my unit to escort you ALL to the palace. Come now."

* * *

The first thing his mother did upon seeing him hugged him so tight he couldn't breathe, he recalled the doctor saying that before Suzanne's illness dominated every aspect of her life, she was quite healthy, and frightening with a spear. Had she not fallen ill, Luke's choice of weapon might have very well been and spear or lance. 

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," and in that same moment, she pulled his ear," Don't you ever do something like that again, but thank Lorelei you're okay." Luke pat her back, "Yeah, nice to see you too mom." As soon as her death hug was over, she thanked Guy for helping in the search for Luke, risking his life to go find him.

Guy, of course, was behind a column, when he accepted her thanks. "No-no, i-it's quite alright Ma'am, just doin' my job."

Upon seeing Tear, who immediately knelt to the ground in apology for the Hyper-Resonance that whisked Luke away, Suzanne brushed it off asking that Tear not continue to fight with her brother. Saying that it was a sad thing to see, siblings fighting.

* * *

"Well Luke, is the Fon Master prepared to make his proposal?" Suanne asked as the group walked up the stairs.

"Eh? Why? You didn't gather the entire head's of state did you?!" Luke asked, his Uncle on his own was easier to tackle, Luke had never had to deal with the heads of state, aka the Advisors, this would make things harder.

Suzanne shook her head," No when dealing with Moh's, who as you know has managed to secure a key position beside the King, your Uncle prefers to make his own judgments.

"As a result of which has grown worrisome even for Natalia, who remains present for a majority of the meetings. She doesn't know how to tackle this, especially with Moh's manipulations. He seems intent on war, and your Father can do nothing but lead.

"So I ask again, are you ready to make your proposal ,Fon Master?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo for badass Suzanne, apparently Suzanne has been sick her whole life, but I like the idea of her being active in her earlier years, and only having to take it easy afterward. I mean, 'cmon. Suzanne is the most accepting person in the game.  
> She forgives Tear in the blink of an eye, and accepts that, despite Luke not being the Luke she gave life to, but rather a replica, she accepts them both as her sons, and mourns the loss of both at the end.  
> I just wanted to give her a larger role, since Crimson kinda comes off as a dick through most of the game.  
> Anyway, see you next time.  
> ...  
> What?! This is at least a little over 5000 words, woohoo! New Record.  
> Okay, you can leave now.


	17. Sylphday-Remday 29-33 Rem Decan N.D 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~! Yes, it is me, because I am procrastinating, and because I am stupid, I have class in a few hours. Just so you know, I write these notes, BEFORE I write the chapter, why I am an A+ procrastinator, that's why.  
> Anyway, I'll probably add more to this as I go along. Expect sporadic chapter updates for all my stories, which one I write and when I write depends on my mood. Please forgive me.  
> I skipped over a really epic fight scene because my computer decided, it'll be really fun to fuck with the writer at 2:20 in the morning, because this is the shit I pull with her.

"Well, are you ready, Fon Master?" Suzanne's query certainly threw Ion for a loop, he hadn't expected such a thing to come from her. Suzanne's frailty didn't allow for much gossip to be spread about her. But he'd heard when she was younger, she was quite handy with a spear, easily surpassing her brother, that is until her illness took a turn for the worst.

Ion nodded," I am, shall we proceed?" Suzanne nodded and using Luke as a crutch because her legs were still unused to so much strain, staggered up the stairs. The guards, stiffened when they saw her approach," Duchess Fabre, my apologies but Grand Maestro Mohs is currently in an audience with His Majesty. Please wait." 

Suzanne let out a tired sigh, "Truly it must be a long time since I've visited, or perhaps he's gone senile that brother of mine, to have already forgotten that I would be personally visiting along with Luke, only to find that I must walk up all these stairs and further aggravate my illness. A most joyous day indeed, to not even give Luke the time of day, even after all these years..."

Suzanne continued to guilt trip the guards who reluctantly opened the doors to the throne room, Luke threw a thumbs up at the group behind him, the group could do nothing but reciprocate the gesture and silently praise the Duchess, there was more to Crimson's interest in Suzanne than met the eye it seemed.

As the group entered, they could here Moh's report to the King, and they could see the King's daughter continue to shoot Moh's dirtier and dirtier looks as things progressed,"The Malkuth Empire is strengthening the defenses in their capital, Grand Chokmah. With Engeve as their supply base, even Saint Binah has been--"

Alpine, a portly old man, who stood by  the King's side through all meetings, was the first to halt the group," Who gave you permission to enter the hall?!"

Suzanne pinned Alpine with a cold look," Alpine, stand down, brother," she addressed Ingobert," it seems the message I sent you on my visit to the palace with Luke, and his guest went either unnoticed or perhaps failed to meet your standards of importance. As I recall, I explicitly stated that Luke was traveling with both Malkuth military and members of the Order of Lorelai, the former of which I assumed would at least be a priority, that 1, your nephew, who you haven't visited once with Natalia since his return to the Manor seven years ago.

"And do not dare use such an excuse that running an entire Kingdom is a lot of work. I know it is, Crimson comes home tired to the bone every night as a result of it. Natalia has plenty of time to come and visit, _**EVERY WEEK.**_ And I'm sure, as the heir to the throne, Natalia is extremely busy with all of her classes and such, and yet she finds time. I recall Father finding plenty of time to spend with us as children.

"And what angers me the most, is that you would brush off such an occasion when one adds the fact that I gave Natalia the letter. And I've known Natalia since her birth, she is honest and not one to  break her promises, did you brush her off so lightly..."

Suzanne continued to analyze and take apart Ingobert apart piece by piece, even when the King argued tensions were growing thick, she threw back, like a slap in his face, that tensions have been growing thick because no one could think properly, instead ,all the men were up to their arse ...lets stop there.

Throughout the entire display, Ion shrunk further and further into the group until his back hit Luke's chest, Guy stood beside Luke on one side silently cheering Suzanne on, Tear on the other, holding back her laughter, Anise on her knees at Ion's feet. Jade silently watched, his smirk growing wider and wider. And the princess's eyes grew brighter and brighter. 

Suzanne was a force to be reckoned with, Luke was confused throughout the entire debacle, he'd never seen this side of her before, but in retrospect, she'd never been this healthy before.

Ingobert finally caved in, with a hand raised in surrender, he didn't look too down about it, though, rather he himself gave a challenging smirk," Alright Suzanne, you said Luke was traveling with an emissary of peace?" Ingobert gestured to Luke's ragtag group of friends.

"Ah, yes, it's nice to finally meet you, Uncle. This is Fon Master Ion, of the Order of Lorelei, and with him Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Military."The two stepped forward, Ion greeting Ingobert with a bow,"It's nice to see you again, Your Majesty.' Moh's opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by the onslaught of cold stares shot his way. "Your Majesty, I present to you, Colonel Jade Curtiss. He represents His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth."

Jade bowed deeply," I am honored to be in your presence. I bear an imperial letter from my lord for His Glorious Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth."

Luke whispered to Guy," This is a lot of redundancy no?" The blond shrugged," Eh, politics, and social niceties."

"Ew..." Tear mumbled. The pair shot her an incredulous look, upon noticing their stares, she turned bright red and turned her head away.

Anise ran to Alpine and handed him the letter, who handed it off to Ingobert, scanning over the contents briefly, Ingobert nodded in thanks," I shall review the information, and consider my response carefully," shifting his gaze to Luke, "Good job Luke, you may have just defused this...delicate situation."

With that closed he turned to Alpine," Set-up guest rooms for our emissaries." Alpine saluted.

"Wait!" Luke shouted," Please allow me to house them in the Manor, I wouldn't have made it back in one without their help." Ingobert began to protest this but was quickly shot down by both Natalia and Suzanne, "Father please, Luke isn't exactly weak, he can protect Aunty Suzanne well enough, besides Guy's pretty handy with a sword."

"Brother," Suzanne began, the occupants of the room felt the temperature shift down a few degrees," Do not think me such a fragile flower, that I shall wilt at the slightest change in winds." And with that Suzanne left, muttering a 'follow' to the rest of the group, who complied immediately. 

Tear was held back by Moh's," Tear, you stay here. I must hear your report regarding the matter I assigned you." Tear looked ready to protest, but as Luke walked by her muttered to her, "Remember your oath to be Neutral." Tear shot his a confused glance as she walked to Moh's ready to give her report.

* * *

"Oh, Suzanne, you're back so soon?" Crimson greeted them at the door, he glanced at the wall clock," I'd have thought you may be out for an hour or more, Ingobert gave in so quickly?" Suzanne replied with a curt 'Yes' filled with pride,and continued to lead the rest of the party deeper into the Manor, Ion casting a curious glance at the Duke, graciously bowing as he followed the Duchess.

Crimson chuckled, turning to Luke he placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's good to have you home, and Guy thank you for going above and beyond as a servant in looking after my son." Guy shifted his weight from foot to foot, scratching his cheek nervously," It's fine, Luke's done a lot for me since I've come to the Manor it's the least I could do." Crimson narrowed his eyes, wondering what it was that Luke did, but waved his thoughts away, he probably covered some of Guy's flub ups and snuck his food when they were children.

"Well then, I'd like to meet this so called 'assassin', "Crimson used the term assassin loosely, hardly believing Tear to be anything like that since she just made all the guards on her way in here falling asleep," That the guards have been telling me about."

Luke huffed," She's not an Assassin father. she's a soldier with the Order of Lorelei."

"Supposedly she's Van's rumored younger sister," Guy added. Crimson rubbed at the bridge of his nose, considering the information, and then shrugged, what was he to do, it wasn't like Van had done anything wrong by choosing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Crimson began walking to his office, gesturing that Luke and Guy follow, the latter of the two surprised by his inclusion.

"Hey dad," Luke called, as they walked," Hmm?" Crimson responded.

"I wasn't expecting Mother to be so...empowered and fearsome as she was in the castle, has the medicine been giving her extra energy?" Luke asked, straightforward, no room to beat around the bush. Crimson chuckled and thought back a few decades earlier," You may not know it but, up until about... say little over 2 decades ago, you're mother held the title called the Crimson Streak..."

* * *

_Suzanne Kimlasca-Lanvaldear was the second child to King Ingobert the V and younger sister of Crown Prince Ingobert the VI. As a young child, she'd been diagnosed with a strange illness that would soon cause her bones to weaken and her immune system to systematically fail her every so often._

_Her brother and she had been oblivious to this and spent their days studying and taking classes together. Ingobert took classes that would benefit him as the future leader of Kimlasca, and Suzanne to lead beside him. Neither of the two was neglected in their studies receiving the support of the highest degree in all subjects, from poetry and language to strategy and combat._

_The two siblings were on equal footing on almost every subject save for one, combat. Suzanne, despite her illness, was the stronger of the two. Having much more latent strength and natural skill in combat in comparison to her brother, she was naturally stronger and ergo more preferred to lead during a war._

_Perhaps that's what led Crimson to take such an interest in her, granted their engagement had already been made known for a few months by the time he'd even **begun** courting her, he'd have to have taken **some** interest in her. Her conviction  and her strength, her military prowess and courage, her knowledge and her ruthlessness at times were all key factors that led to him loving her. He was 26 and she was 19 when they married._

_He was 29 when he came home from a successful campaign, they'd finally took hold of Akzeriuth, a victory that garnered much cheer from both his men and the people of Baticul. A celebration that was short-lived for him when he returned only to find that Suzanne had fallen gravely ill.An old childhood sickness had resurfaced, causing her strained body from war and battle to collapse._

_At age 21, the Crimson Streak, once known to have struck terror into the hearts of those she faced, laid down her spear and disappeared from the battlefield.Crimson did no mourn the loss of a soldier, rather he thanked Lorelei and Rem above for their graciousness. The illness that now ravaged Suzanne's body could've taken her that night.But instead, they took only her ability to fight in a war, it was a blessing in disguise because nearly four years later, she'd given birth to a son, her body had been left weaker than ever, but Crimson could accept that she was still alive, sickly and frail, but alive._

_Crimson did no mourn the loss of a soldier, rather he thanked Lorelei and Rem above for their graciousness. The illness that now ravaged Suzanne's body could've taken her that night.But instead, they took only her ability to fight in a war, it was a blessing in disguise because nearly four years later, she'd given birth to a son, her body had been left weaker than ever, but Crimson could accept that she was still alive, sickly and frail, but alive._

_Once more fate tried his patience seven years later. he was 40 years old, still leading the military have been promoted to the rank of Commander, Suzanne fell gravely ill once more with worry over the kidnapping of their only  son. He'd returned yes, but he'd returned with no memory of what happened._

_And Crimson had a hard time adjusting himself around this Luke, this Luke, who was nothing like his Luke before the kidnapping, that Luke became excited ta the mere sight of him. Wanting to spend every waking moment he could with his father._

_The Luke that returned from Choral Castle was nothing like the Luke before the kidnapping. The Luke that had returned seemed to favor his mother and practical studies. He studied medicine, artes, and technology the Luke of before could never comprehend, he breezed through subjects as if they were child's play, and cured Suzanne's grievous illness faster than any of the doctors ever could._

_Crimson was proud of this Luke, he was, but it just didn't feel like his Luke. Not the Luke that would come bounding over to him without a care, but rather a Luke that became nervous and jittery every time he came in Crimson's presence. It irked him to no end, but how could he question the son that had nearly brought back the conviction and courage to his wife's eyes again._

_Today she stood up and walked out of the manor, past the guards and all the servants, straight up the stairs to the palace. Today she fought against her brother and tore through him like she once did many years ago, in a way it was and embarrassing loss for Ingobert, but it was also probably invigorating and eye-opening._

_Ingobert had grown complacent in previous years, adhering to the dangerous advice and reports given to him by Moh's. Those words could very well spark a new war, and Crimson wasn't sure of the people or troops were mentally prepared for it. The Hod war may have been 15 years ago, but the scars of the war still remained to this day._

_Suzanne could open up his eyes, she could properly challenge the King to a game of wits. She may not be healthy enough to wield a spear, but she was healthy enough to cut with her words._

* * *

Anise awoke in the middle of the night just at the right moment, one of the White Knights was making his last round for his shift and she really needed to use the bathroom. She apparently scared the crap out of him because he'd nearly woken up the whole Manor in his fuss. Pissing her off.

She would've given him a piece of her mind, but she was more concentrated on relieving herself more than anything else. So she made a beeline towards the bathroom ignoring the cowardly White Knight who'd mistook her for...what was that he was muttering, a red-haired devil?

Humming to herself as she was washing her hands she glanced up to peer at her reflection only to find something strange in its place.

Eyes an eery off-putting yellow, skin tinted with lavender and purple. Hair black and purple, like bruises, she was both in awe and fear of the girl reflected in the mirror. She grew fearful for a moment, she was the only one here last she checked, so was that her in the mirror?

Sudden deep-seated pain overtook her, a flurry of emotions and memories not her own, or maybe possibly her own, she couldn't differentiate when they looked so real...and hearing her own voice play out in the first person. She clutched her head in pain, curled up on the cold tile floor.

**_~~~Akzeriuth, fall, Ion,~~ Van, bad, ~~Asch, good, Luke, key, Tear, Guy, Me, Ion, and...an~~ unknown ~~woman who was close to~~ Asch....Ion!! _ **

Shaking her head, she peeked out one eye to review the reflection, only to find herself. She felt relieved and a tad disappointed, but she didn't think she'd get any answers about this from anyone, including Jade. Besides telling someone about this meant sharing this gu=irl's existence, and she didn't want to share something so amazing with anyone. This was

This was her special secret. Well, aside from the secret respect she had for Dist. But that was a secret she'd carry with her to the grave, no one could ever know. especially her future husband.

* * *

Rem had a nasty habit of wanting to be the first thing that saw Luke come morning, he grumbled and flopped a pillow over his head only rousing when he heard a frightened 'Mieu!!' and then a 'thump'.

"Oh, sorry Mieu, you okay buddy?" Luke asked cupping the baby cheagle in his hands, the cheagle rubbed his head but nodded yes with a smile, appreciating that Luke cared so much. Luke sighed in relief, he'd thought he'd actually hurt Mieu in his disregard for yesterday's events. A lot of things happened differently this time around, he pondered on it as he sat up in bed, petting Mieu, the cheagle purring in delight at the attention.

He'd been a lot smarter and proactive this time around. He may have attracted suspicion from Van in the beginning which quickly dissolved when he played the overzealous student. He took advantage of his new found knowledge and power at his disposal, practicing his artes in order to train his body in memorizing the movements and words.

His relationship with Natalia had become a lot more platonic in recent years, Natalia coming close to terms that he may never regain his memory about their time together as children. Not only that she'd improved in her Fonic Artes as a Seventh Fonist, utilizing it to it's fullest extent, and broadening her horizons culturally and academically. Luke made it a habit of his to correct Natalia whenever she disrespected Guy, but he usually left it alone when she was teasing him, she knew where to draw the line, though.

He'd made friendly with many of the servants and Guy much faster, when he asked Guy about Fon Tech, the pair bonding over it. Hook line and sinker, Guy had been reluctant at first and opposed to being friends with him. But he kind of bought part of Guy's favors by sneaking him treats at times, Guy couldn't deny his friendship any longer. (Let's omit the part that there was no one else in the manor with an interest in Fon Tech like Luke.)

He'd been overly friendly with Tear too, but she took it in stride after she dropped her initial suspicion, and they'd been pretty chummy too. Probably because of his knowledge in Fonic Hymns, they'd both taken to learning any and all of what Luke remembered from the book, he should probably give the transcribed copy to both Jade and Tear on their way out.

Anise was less annoying, he didn't feel right calling her a traitor all the god damn time. She was cute, in an annoying little sister way, but still annoying, he might just pay off her parent's debt in secret so she won't have much of a reason to work for Moh's anymore. Now that's an idea...maybe he could get Asch to do it...? An even better idea.

Then there was the whole escapade with Jade, Luke honestly was taking petty revenge against the older man, which was extremely unfair of him, it was taking advantage of him and his secrets that he wouldn't want the rest of the world to be privy to. Not only that but he'd managed to make Dist snap into...whatever he was now. Some things were better left alone like that.

Startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door,Luke shouted a hurried 'come in' and in came Sylvia as always. She bowed and greeted him with the expected news of freedom," Good morning, Master Luke. Another beautiful day today, isn't it? According to the Order of Lorelei's Score, though, there may be some slight rain later. A messenger arrived from Princess Natalia, requesting your presence in the castle."

Luke thanked her and bid her farewell as she left to attend other matters. Holding Mieu above his head, Luke smiled, "Guess we've got our work ahead of us huh?" The tiny Cheagle unaware of his master's foreknowledge gave a tiny mieu of confusion.

* * *

Luke was out of the manor, and for all that he'd done, this whole freedom thing still felt new to him. He'd lived out all his lives as a mere puppet to Lorelei's schemes, so when he was given the slightest bit of freedom within the confines of these supposed "retries", he felt awkward. This was the first time Luke deviated from the original script.

It was a new found high, and Luke certainly didn't want to let go of it anytime soon. He found himself addicted to this delusionary freedom, sure there were some things that still astounded him even at his mental age of...22? 25? He'd lost track.

Either way, he'd relish in these last few seconds of freedom before he had to be sent off...there.

**_< Akzeriuth still doesn't taste right in your mouth huh?>_ **

_/It probably won't...ever./_

**_< I suppose so, but just in case...we happen to fail in destroying Van completely...evacuate the town's population.>_ **

_/You don't have to tell me./_

Luke quickly spottedTear and Moh's as soon as he walked, he considered hiding behind a column and eavesdropping, but Jade was looking awfully suspicious up there on the balcony, so Luke waved, and found Jade waving back.

He walked past Tear and Moh's purposefully tickling Mieu as he walked by, alerting the secretive pair of his presence. Tear quickly bid Moh's a hasty farewell and followed after him, Luke gave her a curious glance which she promptly ignored so he left it alone. He met Jade ,Anise, Ion and Guy at the entrance to the throne room. 

Jade gestured to the closed door's, Luke gave him a suspicious glance, there was a lot of that going around, and he pushed them open. Waiting to be thrown to the wolves all for the sake of greed and so-called prosperity.

* * *

"Luke...what do we do with her?" Gut through a thumb Natalia, who was standing a few feet away from the group as they discussed what to do with the tag-along princess. The events that occurred in the throne room were thrown back at him.

Kimlasca decided to go through with the whole peace Treaty, contained in the letter was a detailed proposal for a treaty to be drawn up and be signed at Daath. But it also contained a formal request for aid to the mining city of Akzeriuth. Along with the small border skirmishes and the threat of war breaking out, the tectonic sequence of Auldrant had thrown scientists for a loop.

Miasma pockets had begun to spring up in abundance, especially in Akzeriuth, a mining city that was built into a depression in the ground, but instead of going up in construction, it furthered it's way down. The town was one earthquake away from being completely drowned in the Qliphoth.

Not that anyone would really care if anything really happened to it, it was the perfect scapegoat to use as an instigation for war. And to further Van's goals. Strangely enough, Van hadn't been imprisoned this time around. That was either a good thing or a very very bad sign of the events yet to come.

Luke glanced back at the impatient do-gooder of a Princess, and considered sending her back...it certainly would make things a bit easier. But considering the events that could possibly go down as a result of everything that would happen at Akzeriuth, not to mention Natalia's indispensable,albeit useless in battle, Healing Arte's,she was a valuable asset.

**_< Please don't refer to her as an object.>_ **

_/But you're an asset, I'm an asset, Van is an asset, Ion is an asset! We're all assets!!/_

**_< I still feel like asset it used and should only be used for objects.>_ **

"Let's just bring her along, Natalia may not know any Hymns, but her Healing Arte's are really useful...outside of battle, and since we're going to Akzeriuth, that will be really useful, depending on whether or not we'll end up evacuating the whole city."

Luke proved a point, and the group thought it over, before inevitably greeting and welcoming Natalia, with stiff open arms. Natalia greeted everyone, but looked confused, "Where is the Fon Master?" The entire group became silent, Guy coughed, Jade pinched the bridge of his nose, and Tear buried her face in Mieu's fur, while Anise went off to go fume in a corner of the Factory.

"Well, you see..." Guy started, trying to find the words.

"The problem with the Fon Master..." Tear tried to help him out but also failed to find the words.

"Ion is really naive,"Jade stated bluntly.

"And is a self-righteous fool," Luke added.

"Don't forget, sick off his ass, still recovering and an overall innocent child WHO NEEDS TO LEARN TO BE SAFE!!" Anise bellowed from her corner.

"Yeah, that too." Guy nodded.

* * *

Exiting the factory, the party stopped to feel the cool rain settling down on them, perhaps it could wash away the oil stains they suffered from the factory, and possibly Abaddon guts, that was a particularly difficult battle that they wouldn't have gotten through without Jade's tactical skills.

They didn't get to enjoy it because, at that moment, the first meeting between the two took place, Luke didn't rush ahead, this time, he gripped his blade, and nodded to Tear and Guy, the two of whom nodded back, as he rushed towards Asch.

/Hey,hey!/

<What the-Dreck?!>

Luke didn't give much time for Asch to respond, he was soaked, and Luke coming out of nowhere wasn't something he'd expected, well he HAD expected it at some POINT, but not so soon.

"It's you!" Luke grunted, schooling his almost giddy expression, Asch responded with a grunt,"Hrmm."

_/Did you miss me?/_

**_< No, not in the slightest.>_ **

_/Oh...Well, did you miss Natalia at le-/_

**_< This conversation is over!!>_ **

Asch pushed Luke back and threw a slightly vicious and hurried Stalagmite at him, as he retreated. Luke's fingers shook at the weight behind Asch's attack, he grinned internally, yeah he definitely couldn't wait until this was all over, they'd get to spar plenty then.

* * *

Through one too many stops on the way on account of Luke, and apparently Asch, they were diverted from trekking through the desert blindly and turned towards Zao Ruins, which thankfully through a well detailed Map Luke had been given before their departure from Baticul, pointed them in the right direction once they stopped at the Oasis for a breather. 

"That Asch, why is it that he looks so much like Luke?" Natalia found herself asking as she watched Luke,Jade and Tear argue around a map, over supplies and other such necessities. 

"Don't know," Guy said, planting himself on the rock next to her, well out of her reach, "Luke seems to be taking it pretty well, either that or he's just really forcing all that shock aside for Ion's sake."

Natalia nodded at the information and considered Guy's words and took to staring at Luke's back. She really wanted to know, who was Asch and why di he resemble Luke so damn much. She'd get her answers soon enough.

* * *

Or so she thought. 

All she could do is fight the God-General's alongside her  companion and watch Luke fight against...his doppelganger? She didn;t know, all she knew was that Luke had as many questions for his look-alike as she did.

They retrieved Ion, they escaped the Zao ruins, and they made it back to the Oasis safely, but still her questions remained unasked and unanswered. Unanswered and she grew impatient, but nonetheless, she was the princess of Kimlasca, as such it was her duty to carry out tasks such as these.

Luke seemed right at home in the great outdoors, but that was probably because he spent most every waking moment outside, swinging his sword around in a secluded section of the Manor grounds. He'd actually been caught asleep there once or twice by one of the servants, who'd let it go, completely assured that Luke could protect himself.

Natalia had witnessed it firsthand, in the factory, Luke's body responded as a soldier would when Jade issued orders, he and Tear moved fluidly beside one another.Completely aware of one another and their surroundings, Anise and Guy weren't so bad either. Compared to them, Natalia was dead-weight, slowing them down.

Of course, this type of mindset was all but obliterated by Luke, her Artes may be precise, relying on timing and accuracy rather than the sporadic attacks laid by the other, those precise attacks were detrimental to bringing down potentially tough enemies. Not only that her Healing Arte's were especially helpful for precision and single-body healing. 

Natalia left Zhao Ruins with questions, she entered Chesedonia with questions, but ultimately, these were questions she felt that there was no need for answers.

* * *

She rested fitfully that night, unable to sleep with the whirlwind of emotions raging about within her. What to make of them, she wondered.

There was a man out there, by the name of Asch the Bloody who looked an awful lot like Luke, he fought very much like him as well. But they'd been given a reason for that, Van also taught Asch, so it was no wonder he seemed a lot more alike to Luke in that respect, but he was like a mirror image of Luke in terms of personality.

Shaking her head she reminded herself that none of that mattered, Luke was Luke, after all, she'd push the idea of this man far from his mind. She shook her head, choosing to go into the bathroom to relieve herself to avoid dawdling on the topic any more than necessary.

Washing her hands she glanced up at the mirror, nearly screaming and backing away at what she saw, but shock held her and kept her quiet. Her eyes, a glowing peridot, were now brighter, almost glowing, her skin was given an olive, it looked quite good on her matching her reflected, glossy sage hair. She didn't know if she was horrified or mesmerized, shaking her head again she left to get some rest. Perhaps she was just tired, extremely tired.

Perhaps she was just tired, extremely tired. Hopefully, her lethargy wouldn't hinder their movements.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there, the bloodbath begins!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Okay, I'm done. So did you'll have fun. I feel like I should've done detailed happenings of Zhao Ruins some more for people who neither played the game or watched playthroughs.  
> Oh well, as you can see...I did not reach my goal...I took the test for Common Core Geometry...I knew all the multiple choice, EVERYONE KNEW THE ANSWERS TO THAT SHIT... and then came problem-solving...I FORGOT SOHCAHTOA, HOW DO I FORGET THAT. I ONLY KNEW HOW TO DO RIGID TRANSFORMATIONS, I'VE NOW BARELY PASSED ALGEBRA I AND FAILED GEOMETRY.   
> HELP ME GOD, the fucking juniors came out of the Trig room with smiles...but not the good kind, the kind that shows how broken they are. Apparently when they opened the booklet someone said 'Fuck me' and another rolled around half an hour later and said I'm done and another fell asleep...and I'm friends with all these people, I'VE FAILED GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA I, HOW AM I GONNA PASS TRIG.  
> ...Help...  
> ~Val.Prof. out.


	18. Interlude|Asch|Briefing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little insight and hints are dropped, your welcome...and sorry not sorry.

Naive.

If you asked Asch, the childhood "Luke" was innocent and ignorant of the darkness that lurked in the shadows of conmen and seemingly trustworthy folks. He was a noble, born, bred , and raised. He was fed with a silver spoon and everything he could ever wish for on his platter. This blinded him, sure he was told of how the world suffered, most often told this by his mother.

And he wanted to change that, alongside Natalia. Marrying Natalia would only boost him to the succession of being Prince Consort, while Natalia would rule as Queen Regnant. But still he'd promised to fight her battles for her, a promise he wouldn't let go off anytime soon. Of course, now he was more aware than ever about what that would entail.

He blamed so many people, especially Van, but at that point in time, he found himself only blaming the youth of seven years ago for being so naive.

* * *

When he'd returned to the manor on foot, he'd expected Van to already be there. But he wasn't, but his replacement sure as hell was. 'Luke' was turned away harshly at the gate, so he went to the gaps in the fence, and found a paper, unfolding it he found himself grow surprised.

It was addressed to him, but it addressed him as 'Asch'. Was that what Van had told him to address 'Luke' as? He read a little bit more before tucking it away to read later. He stared longingly at Natalia and the family he no longer had, now listening intently to this new 'Replica's' speech. He found himself grow more interested in it, and he found the Replica smiling as he explained 'muscle memory'.

He kept glancing in 'Luke's' direction and found himself blushing upon realizing, that the Replica was watching him with the letter. He fled, fled to the outskirts of Baticul before he doubled back and snuck aboard a ship set for Daath.

There amongst the cargo and other miscellaneous items of no value to him, he read the letter, Going through each and every word. He'd expected a letter of smugness from the Replica or a robot informed letter, along the lines of,'Van has informed me...'

Not this...apology.

 

> _**Dear Asch,** _
> 
> _**I'm Luke, or at least I'm the temporary replacement for you, in Van's grand scheme's.**_
> 
> _**First off, I want to apologize. My existence is one that has stripped you of your family...and for that I'm sorry. And my apology might mean nothing, but it'll all turn out okay in the end, I swear it!! But, before all that, I need to explain and go over a few things. If you don't believe me, you're more than welcome to throw this away or burn it, but please read it 'till the end.** _
> 
> _**If you don't respond through the hyper-resonance bond we're linked by...I'll kill Van myself.** _

That sure caught his attention. This Replica was smart enough to kill, did that mean that his parents...Natalia was in danger. As he continued to read, he was assured that Van was all that he was after, but 'Luke', no Asch, that would be his name now.

Asch didn't believe him, as he continued to read, the letter grew more and more absurd until he realized up until now, everything the replica recounted, word-per-word, had already happened. He'd already made that promise to Natalia, upon the hill, his mother had grown ill, he did receive a servant called Guy and a servant called Pere.

Van was his master...and his Master had betrayed him. Asch believed, not completely but just a bit. The letter also detailed how life was supposed to go, if he'd, the Replica and Asch repeated the action from...'back then.' The idea of Time Travel was in and of itself absurd and plain impossible, but knowing he was a Seventh Fonist, who could make a Hyper-Resonance all on his own, it made him believe more.

At first, he helped to get revenge upon Vandesdelca, as the Replica informed him. He'd hated the Replica at first, and apparently did before,but as the years went by, with training at spending a lot of time talking to the Replica in his head, he stopped calling him Replica and called him by his name.

Asch couldn't hold a grudge against a person, albeit artificially created, who was so earnest in helping him. He found himself imagining his home less and less with just himself, Natalia and his parents, and with another redhead by his side, who looked almost exactly like him. He still called him Dreck all the time, but it was more endearing than a slur.

He apparently grew a lot stronger compared to his ...'past selves'. He was pretty proud of that, he was on par with most of the God-Generals, 'except Legretta, damn woman knew all his weak spots, probably because his style was failed and ill'suited him. With some blind pointers from Luke, he'd improved the Albert style and turned into one uniquely suited for him as a Seventh Fonist.

He'd waited seven long years, he spoken, bonded and grew alongside a brother he could not see for seven long years, he wrote letters and kept journals full of his time as a God-General for seven long years to share when he could finally return. And he wrote one especially long letter, that had more and more pages added to it every day...for Luke...as thanks.

He couldn't imagine life without his younger brother, a brother he'd never met, but a brother nonetheless. This was a brother, who he wanted to share everything, not everything per se, but all his memories with. He was sure his mother would agree, his father less so, but he was sure he could win him over. There were some experiences that struck him as odd, and he was sure Luke could answer, like that one night in the bathroom when his reflection was not his own.

His hair burnt like fire at the ends, his eyes as black as coal, skin a dark amber, teeth sharp as knives. It was fearsome, it was frightening...but he felt powerful, invincible almost, that was until he coughed up a bit of blood and the strange reflection was gone. He'd been coughing up blood, that was something to ask the Dreck.

* * *

 

He wasn't expecting and answer like that. The Dreck had told him maybe their activeness did something with their Fonon's. Asch already knew, that in the first...loop? He and Luke faced the idea of ceasing to exist. They wouldn't be alive, and Asch died before then...and only Luke made it back, something that displeased the Dreck always.

So he and Luke separately went out of their ways, looking for ways to prevent the separation of Fonons...they came close, but the answer was still far away.Perhaps , if and when this was all over soon enough...perhaps they'd enlist the help of that Jade bastard...he invented this Fomicry, perhaps he could help piece all their info together?

Perhaps.

Asch didn't sleep easy on those days, wondering if perhaps today would be his last, that Luke and He would never attain their revenge.

He didn't know, and he shouldn't care, he wouldn't die until he and Luke were back home, spending the last of their days with their friends.

That sounded like a nice idea, he could finally see the face of the baby brother he wished for on his seventh birthday. It may not have come naturally from his mother, but Luke was his brother nonetheless. So when seven Year had passed, and it was Remday, Rem-Decan 23, year ND2018. He leapt at the chance to at least look at his little brother's face.

Just once just for a moment.

He'd tease the hell out of him for how serene he looked cradled on Jade's back for good measure. That was for sure. But until the, Asch held onto the letter, tucked away beneath his bed, he couldn't wait.

He couldn't wait to go home.

* * *

 

Akzeriuth. After that they could go home, after that they could rest easy. Afterthat, he'd apologize to Luke...after that he'd propose to Natalia, curse the Dreck for teasing him about it, but he'd do it. He would, but most of all he wanted to erasethe connotations associated with Akzeriuth for Luke.

Akzeriuth, a name that caused every bone in Luke's body to shudder and his mouth clam up. He didn't like it, he didn't know why, but something in his gut told him to fear the day that Akzeriuth came to pass, but they were assured that they could both take on Van in Akzeriuth. They would take on Van in Akzeriuth.

And yet...

~END~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, totally not sorry for the cliffy, see you next week...or maybe the end of the week depending on my motivation. Oh well, see you, I work faster for comments.


	19. Lunaday-Undineday 33-36, Rem-Decan, N.D 2018 Home is far Away.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smiling sadly, he wrote the last words on the Passage Ring, sealing Akzeriuth fate, "It's never, your fault. Brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for nothing, for there is nothing to apologize for, I dropped hints several times and left you all to pick up clues and scrounge about to use, so I warned you so, and if you all have heartbreak over this well...I can't blame you, anyone, who has watched or played the game, and/or the anime knows how emotionally invested you can get with these guys over the course of their journey. It's no big surprise.  
> But, it's something that had to happen, despite how light and bright each Tales game is, they have very dark and heavy undertones, for example, TotA had to do with one's worth finding one's purpose in the world. This is heavily emphasized after Akzeriuth, where Luke regrets his living and Akzeriuth's citizens dying.  
> (Although they could've done without how they brushed of Luke's aversion to death so lightly , he's a CIVILIAN, he wouldn't exactly be thrilled at the sight of it. DUMB FUCKS.)  
> That being said, we've almost reached the climax, shit goes down around the middle.  
> 7/15/16 2:16 a.m  
> The ending was longer and more detailed, but the site froze and I didn't feel like writing all that again, I'm sweating it's hot, we had to empty out our Icebox, so there's no ice. And anyway, the ending still went the way I wanted it to at least.

In the morning, Asch had contacted Luke, informing him of his march with 2 platoons of Order forces, as Luke requested. They were from Asch's faction, and as the two planned, Asch grew close to them, so much so that they were fiercely loyal to him. Luke smiled a tiny bit when he stretched, the pieces were finally falling into place.

Putting his legs, he refilled his bottle and followed after the group. Their abrupt actions in the Zhao Ruins, even their timing threw the God-Generals for a loop, it was funny. Luke didn't recall getting through Chesedonia again without some interference on their part, that was either a blessing or curse in disguise.

But who cared, they were close to Akzeriuth, and even if they managed to apprehend Van and put a stop to his plans indefinitely without destroying Akzeriuth. He didn't want to risk the safety of the citizen with Mohs still around... although he could probably take Mohs out of the running if he brought to light evidence of the Grand Maestro blackmailing the Tatlin's into servitude.

Now there was a novel idea. Definitely, something he'd consider doing after Akzeriuth was safe, or rather at least their citizens were safe.

Crossing into Deo Pass, Luke sprinted up a hill and considered whether or not they should take a short cut and then rest upon the hill for a few minutes. Guy quickly raced up to meet him, panting slightly," O-okay Luke, why'd you r-run, whew, up h-he-here, man I need to get in shape, so quickly?" Luke put his arm around Guy and then gestured to the vast amount of ground they had to cover.

"Tell me, do you honestly want to trek through all that flat but the lengthy field," Luke paused to watch the pure horror and dread crawl onto Guy's face before continuing, "Or would you rather take the high, steep, but the quick route instead?" Guy glanced between the two, weighing which one was the lesser of the two evils. Considering his options, a flat plain would be easier in the beginning, but covering that distance would just tire them out quicker. Whereas the varying steepness meant only one thing.

The rest of the group caught up just in time to watch the blond sprint up the hill full speed, none of them were mentally prepared for such a trek, well Natalia, Ion and Anise weren't, Jade and Tear were quite used to such rocky terrain and followed the redhead who was chuckling at Guy's predictability. Guy made it to the top and rolled the rest of the way down, before repeating the process, again and again, shouting," IT'S FASTER IF YOU JUST ROLL!! LORELEI DAM-SHIT!"  such rocky terrain and followed the redhead who was chuckling at Guy's predictability. Guy made it to the top and rolled the rest of the way down, before repeating the process, again and again, shouting," IT'S FASTER IF YOU JUST ROLL!! LORELEI DAM-SHIT!"  

It would be a steep and tiresome climb, and one he'd rather not take considering Ion's health, but it was the one that would be the quickest, not to mention Legretta would certainly be anticipating them if they took the longer but easier route... or was she on the more difficult route?or was she on the more difficult route?or was she on the more difficult route?or was she on the more difficult route?

Needless to say, Guy was out of breath when the reached the point in the Pass, where it was nothing but downhill..the reached the point in the Pass, where it was nothing but downhill.

* * *

Nope, she was on the difficult route, d-definitely on the more difficult route. She was waiting ominously atop a jagged part of the cliff, making a rather blasphemous proposal that compromised Tear ethics(whatever was left of them anyway, Luke was pretty sure he'd made her break a few of them already, with her deviating from her mission and forcing her to trek through certain areas that were separate entirely from said mission.)

Their...philosiphical argument of the Score and it's interpretation slowed them down, well it slowed Anise,Guy and Natalia making them a bit indecisive in their attacks against her, what if Legretta was right...?

The world was, in a sense, controlled by the Score, many used it as a reference for their lives, but worst case scenarios came to them using the score for what to have for dinner. And maybe not all of them used the Score for that, just trying to follow the so-called future that was set before them.

Legretta lunged for Luke again and again, from a distance and in close-combat. It didn't take long for Luke to push her back, Tear from above sang her Hymn, "O celestial choir, the light of redemption...Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va| Grand Cross!!"

From above, the sky darkened and down came the lightning, Legretta managed to, however, dodge the attack entirely, well not entirely, her shoulder was singed. Tear looked like she regretted harming her mentor, but remained steadfast, she did not, after all, trust her brother, and Legretta was allied with him. Her faith with Mohs and the principles of the Order.

Legretta eyed Luke hatefully, Luke responded with a smirk and slight tilt of his head, she set her focus on Tear, "Tear, get away from that reject!!" As she ordered Tear she shot 13 consecutive shots with her one good hand. Moving out of the way, just in time to feel a fireball burn and aggravate her already wounded shoulder further.

Luke meanwhile deflected all 13 shots, the bullets ricocheting off of Tears hastily cast Protection. "Natalia support me!!" Luke shouted as he made a rush at Legretta, he'd felt the presence of monsters and lo and behold about 20 of them dropped from the cliffs overhead. Natalia, having quickly acclimated to the rush and chaos of battle, wasted no time at all in quickly aiming and releasing a string of projectiles that rivaled Legretta.

Some of the monsters were taken out in one fell swoop. Other's lagged behind as a result of the arrows but slowed enemies were preferred in opposition to perfectly healthy ones.

Using their weakened states as an incentive for an attack, Guy and Anise quickly dispatched the lot of them, killing them off, leaving a tired Legretta in their wake. 

While the rest of them took care of the monsters, Luke, Tear and Jade fought against Legretta, despite being injured, she was still putting up a good fight. Luke didn't want to let up, especially when he knew Eclair d'Larmes could be cast with one arm(he'd seen Tear do it enough times.)

Jade was being especially determined, probably in anger that they'd revived the very technology that was responsible for creating Luke. Jade pushed against her with his spear, they both struggled against one another, "So,it was you people, who dared to revive that forbidden technology!!"

Jade pushed her back with enough force, that she stumbled in her retreat, narrowly escaping Jade constant wave of Artes, Legretta managed to dodge all of them, firing her bullets in rapid succession, Jade spun his spear fast enough to deflect all of them, again pushing against her to knock her off balance enough to deal some damage.

Luke and Tear had long abandoned the fight to provide support for the rest of the party, who was struggling with the sudden onslaught of monsters that followed after the first wave. Luke and Tear both kept an ear on their conversation, though.

"So we did, Necromancer, why would you care?!!" Legretta bit out, her shoulder aching, despite the pain she pressed forward, Replica's were merely tools to be used, disposed of once their use ran out, case in point Luke fon Fabre.

Her answer only served to agitate him further, grinding his teeth, Legretta faced the anger of the Necromancer, "Who's idea was it?!!Dist's?!!" If it was Saphir's idea, that was just one more reason for Jade to kill him.

"What good would that knowledge do you at this point!? The die has been cast Necromancer!!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!!" He bellowed. The rest of the party,who had  tied up things on their end, turned to give surprised glances at Jade, never having heard him shout in such indignation.

_( **<** **And Luke was subtly turned on, though he'll deny it. >**_

_/SHUT UP BROTHER!!/)_

"That can be arranged."

As if to prove her point, she aimed the gun at his abdomen, a second too late Jade redirected the bullet to his thigh. Pain blossomed there and he backed away, not before throwing one more Arte in her direction, this one hit it's marked, only further damaging her wounded shoulder, Legretta didn't care, though, she'd slowed them down substantially.

Jumping away, Legretta quickly made her escape, they had an injured person on them, they'd be slowed down, by about a day, but that would be enough. Just enough for their plan to work.

* * *

"COLONEL!!" Anise screamed, quickly rushing over to help the man into a sitting position, the man in question exhibited no visible signs of pain, instead grunting a bit here and there.

"There's so much blood," Natalia stated her face gone pale, she knew her Artes could be used at the moment , but she never expected so much blood, there was so much, it was pouring and was Jade always this pale? 

"It's nothing..." his breath slightly off its normal rhythm. Luke sighed and tore off a bit of his shirt sleeve, he'd worn a long sleeved one, and tightly wrapped it around Jades' leg wound. Tightly so as to stop the bleeding, but loose enough that it wouldn't cut off the blood flow. Patting his knee Luke stood up, the Colonel giving him a quizzical look.

"There," Luke started patting his hand on his clothing to rid himself of the non-existent dust," That should do until we can find a safe spot to camp for the night." Tear understood his line of thinking despite the questions she had for him, "We should look towards a river, or at least a spring of sorts, we can treat your wound better if we're out of the open." 

Jade made no room for argument, allowing bothTear and Luke to heft his weight onto their shoulders. "My,my, I didn't think Guy so uncouth as to force a lady to do all the work." The man couldn't pass up such an opportune moment to tease the poor blond. Anise looked around quizzically, the blond in question was nowhere in sight.

"Speaking of which, where is Guy?" Ion asked.

"Oh, I sent him and Natalia ahead to go and scout for a spring or something, we'll hear him scream any second now...or later," Luke added offhandedly, he and Tear already moving forward at a snail pace that wouldn't aggravate the bullet wound. Indeed after a good half-hour of walking, they heard the shrill cry of Guy, no doubt in fear of Natalia.

"Well," Anise began," Guess that's one way of putting his Gynophobia to good use." The group snickered and began pulling item after item out of Luke's sack and setting up for the night.

* * *

"Alrighty then, let's start on treating our wounds while Guy cooks," Luke announced from his tent, exiting the sleeping are with a first aid kit. Removing her gloves Tear sat by a propped up Colonel sitting on a boulder. His Leg was hefted onto another boulder adjacent of the one he sat on.

Sighing Jade couldn't understand why they wouldn't let him do this part himself, he was more than familiar with dissecting and removing things ingrained into the body. Regardless of his medical training and experience, Jade couldn't be trusted with these things, being the Necromancer and all.

"Honestly, hand the damned tweezers and scalpel here, I'm more than capable-" Jade began to argue.

"It's not that we're questioning your experience Colonel, but operating on yourself's got to be hard, especially since the bullet is lodged somewhere around you lower leg,"Tear informed him using the scalpel to surgically open the wound a bit more to allow Luke to dig the bullet out. There wasn't any exit wound, and Jade was bleeding nearly as much as one would from a bullet that went in and out of your body.

Jade hissed, he may have become acclimated to the pain of sewing wounds on himself and scalping his body to test his limits, he was unused to such a precise and quick cut. He began to bleed out, Natalia quickly at the ready with a towel, she had stayed off on the side with some wet towels, ones they'd no doubt discard after this, Luke had sure come prepared.Still a bit squeamish from the amount of blood she quickly looked away, still pressing the towel to the wound. 

She wouldn't be ready to kill actual humans for a while yet.

"Alright, Tear, could you concentrate some light fonons in the direction of the wound I can't see where the bullet is," Luke instructed, gingerly searching through the torn skin, Jade periodically letting out a grunt or hiss of pain. Tear did her best to direct the light from the Fonon's in the direction of Jade's wound. This required precise use of a Fonon that was very varying in strength depending on its concentration.

In general, generating Fonons in a cluster was hard, something she was proud of to have mastered, but this was a whole new level, still she pressed on despite her shaking hands, they need to quickly dislodge the bullet from...wherever it was. Luke made a frustrated noise,"Damn, it's really small for doing so much damage."

"Kind of like Anise then?" Tear offered in an effort to distract Jade, it might help while Luke attempted to dislodge an extremely small bullet. Luke grinned, poking at the wound, gauging Jade's reactions, he was most unamused.

"Yeah, sorta.Still, Legretta's bullet's must absorb Fonon's at a rapid pace. They were quick and concise, and if such a small bullet could make such a large wound..." He trailed off.

"We really dodged a bullet then huh?" Guy added from his post, standing guard while the party took care of Jade. Luke threw a rock at the blond, Asch had ruined the joy that puns brought, Tear followed suit equally as unamused.

**_< Hey! Don't blame me for your incapacity to enjoy puns.>_ **

Gritting his teeth, Luke blindly grabbed for the bullet, luck was on his side today,through the mess of blood and muscle, he'd managed to pull the bullet  out. It really was tiny, definitely, Fonon filled bullets.

"That's all well and good, but could you possibly seal up the wound now?" Jade asked, uninterested in the bullet, despite its power in its minuscule size, and more concerned about the fact that it was pulled out a few centimeters shy of his knee-cap, had Legretta been able to aim properly...He could have become and invalid.

"Right, um, Natalia, could you start with healing this up right here, I'll focus as many Seventh Fonons as possible, I want you to use your Arte in tandem with mine, okay...?" Luke took in Natalia's blanched face, seeing so much blood must've been really getting to her, she knew the anatomy and skeletal structure of the human body to know well enough that if she didn't concentrate her Seventh Fonon's could end up aggravating the wound further.

Nodding, she followed the path that Luke had made for her, stitching up the wound bit by bit, even after closing it, Tear and Luke both insisted wrapping some gauze around it, "Just in case, concentrating Fonon's like that will speed up healing internally, but everything externally speaking is really sensitive, we don't want to risk you re-opening it until we're sure that it's perfectly healed.

Jade sighed, testing out his knee, slightly off balance because of the pain that shot through it. Tear gave him a disappointing look, which Jade responded to with a winning smile. Sighing in annoyance, Tear left to help Anise with cooking, making a point of ignoring Jade all throughout dinner.

After dinner, they Guy and Jade decided to wash the dishes, Jade, because he wanted to test out one of his open Fon Slots and Guy because...he wanted to avoid Tear after that pun he made earlier. 

* * *

Natalia sat by the fire, unaware of her surroundings and the fact that Luke was approaching her. She was too relaxed. something she needed to work on, especially because of what may lie ahead of them. Planting himself next to her in an unceremonious manner, Luke lay flat on his back spread out as he stretched.

Natalia jumped in surprise, his movements startling her, arm blindly reaching for her bow before calming down, and going back into her pensive state. Luke took note of how quiet she was, Luke was acting very Noble so her nonexistent input worried him.

Perhaps it was all the blood she saw, she'd learned basic healing and how to use her Artes on minor wounds. But such aa large one like that made by a bullet probably was too much for her first field mission, she did well though pushing through and sealing up the wound, and it was pretty successful, being able to put his medical theories to the test.

Still, Luke had been able to compartmentalize the idea of blood and guts fairly well, Natalia herself pulled it off with just monsters, but considering the bullet wound...and the amount of human blood. She was acting just like a normal Healer or Surgeon would.

"You did really well today Natalia," Luke said from where he lay, his hair splayed around him if it was any darker it may have been reminiscent of blood. A reminder he was well aware of when people saw his hair. Natalia slumped further, looking away in shame.

"My reaction to such a thing was poor, if...I am to receive proper training in healing than I must be able to face such things with no fear, I can't freeze up like I did, particularly because this was healing done in the safety of seclusion, not in the midst of battle where hasty decisions and sacrifices must be made as a means to an end."

"Natalia...your reaction today...it's nothing to be ashamed of, in fact, if our Doctor Balfour were here," Luke gestured to Jade as he said Balfour, the person in question casting an annoyed glance as he did so," He would tell you that you performed well for such a grievous wound."

"You called?" Jade asked as he moved to sit by Luke, the redhead grinned, sitting up, "Oh nothing, just reassuring our newest member and healer that she did pretty well despite the gravity of the wound." 

"Luke, I responded like an amateur, I've...I should've had much better control over my fears and doubts, if I didn't respond the second I did, we could've possibly needed a blood transfusion, where are we to find such a thing out her, furthermore-" Jade held up a hand silencing Natalia, removing his glasses, Jade rubbed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose.

"Natalia, your reaction was completely natural, you've only been with us a week, not only that Luke and Tear have had practice with healing and tending to our wounds. Tear has had more brutal training in this regard, having to tend to her own wounds, Luke as I inspected his room, Luke hush, he's seen the pictures in textbooks.

"Even then, with their experience, your abilities are far more suited to the type of treatments that this group needs, Luke and Tear may have the practical skill and knowledge, but you have the greatest output in Seventh Fonons, you're far more suited to these type of deep wounds compared to them."

Luke grinned at a now blushing Natalia, from the amount of praise Jade had given her, "See, I told you he'd agree with me." Jade smirked,"But while you may be better in this regard, your Artes require to much time, despite the wider array of healing it does, it's more suited towards post-battle use then in-battle use. Please weigh your options in battle when you choose to use your Artes."

Natalia pouted, arms crossed, she gave Luke a look," You were saying?"

"Hey don't pin this on me! I only said he'd praise, I made no mention as to what type of criticism he'd give you."

* * *

This...How...?" Natalia had been oddly invigorated come morning, easily taking down a few foes from the distance she settled herself in, Jade's words of encouragement must have given her a boost in confidence. She easily kept pace with Tear and Guy. But upon seeing the state Akzeriuth lay in...her joy was a little too soon.

"Looks like the miasma's spread a lot," Guy observed, he slid down the hill a bit more gracefully than before, probably to announce their arrival. The rest of the group trailed after him, Luke had to hold back his glee, his plan just might work.

They surveyed the town that stretched for miles down below, Natalia almost shot off before listening to the full report being given to them by a Malkuth soldier, Luke quickly caught her hand in a vice-like grip, Natalia would be needed for his plan to work, "I know you want to help, so do we, but stay where we can see you so we can properly coordinate risk victims and evacuate." 

Natalia couldn't argue with his logic, even if it seemed a bit coldhearted, it was still their priority to evacuate the people who were on the outside,before going into the mines and evacuating the miners.

"Well then," Jade turned to look and Tear, Natalia, and Luke," How will we do this, Malkuth has sent a total of 300 carriages to transport the citizens of Akzeriuth to nearby cities for further medical attention, and the Order sent a manner of pulley's to help lift the citizens out, although I can't imagine we'll reach some of them in time, even if we sent Healers down there first."

Luke smirked, "I have that area covered. In fact, your bullet wound helped me come up with this idea in the first place." 

Jade gave Luke a quizzical look, not believing him for a second, but he didn't voice his disbeliefs, choosing instead to hear the Noble's plan before proceeding to destroy it.

"So, Natalia followed the concentrated Seventh Fonon's on the needle, almost like one would in a procession, with me so far?"

Tear and Natalia nodded along, "And we know that one of Tear's Hymns can block out Miasma for a while, right? So I figure if Tear and I cast two Hymns, one of us near the mine's at the lowermost level of Akzeriuth, and one up here near the entrance, with Natalia concentrating as many Fonon's as possible near the middle, we can probably stretch the distance of the barrier without maxing out our Fonon output."

The pair of Healers took the information," I see," Tear began,"By having Natalia act as a beacon, we can generate our Fonon's towards her, who's already maximizing her Fonon output, resulting in replenishing her's and expanding the area by which the 2nd and 4th Hymns takes effect."

"I see, but do I have to concentrate the entire time, or only for a few short moments, it was simple enough when Luke performed it because he was leading, and I merely followed. My skills towards Mass Fonon concentration are little to none."

"Not to worry, once you get to your designated area, I want you to clear your mind and then focus on stabilizing and concentrating your Fonon's, don't sweat it, Natalia. I'll be walking you through every step of the way."

Natalia hesitated, and gave a glance at the state of the mining city, she saw a child lying next to what may be his, mother, and gulped, before hesitantly nodding, accepting her part in Luke's plan.

Luke grinned, clasping Natalia's gloved hands in his, "Thanks, Natalia!" 

* * *

Inhaling deeply, Natalia let out a breath she'd been holding since they'd arrived. She was nervous, and rightly so, Luke's plan required her to work, well not really, but it would help towards alleviated the amount of stress and fatigue that would result from using and ate one too many times consecutively without rest. Luke's plans hinged on her ability to absorb and create a mass concentration of Fonon's that she produced, a skill that could only be done by only the most Seasoned of Fonists.

Still ,though, if this could work towards bettering the relations between the two nations, then she would do it. Concentrating on clearing her mind of all extrusive sights and sounds, she focused on one thing only, generating Fonon's. When casting an Arte Fonon's, the very building blocks of their world, needed to be focused on the attack, precise control over it ended at generating the element(s) required, and letting one's own consciousness, to dictate where it would take effect.

In the case of Fonic Spells, a higher ability of control would be needed for even the simplest of Magic Artes, not only that the more Fonic Energy one put towards the Arte, the more fatigue and stress it put on one's body, (at least in the case where mediums for Fonic Energy weren't used. )

Luke's idea had been built against most contingencies, it was foolprrof, there weren't that many loop-holes that she could find, or at least none the Jade felt needed to be brought to light. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she focused on generating Luke's and Tear's needed Fonon's. 

'Focus, breathe in and out. In. Out. Feel the Fonon's shifting...'she thought, and unbeknownst to her, the atmosphere around her shifted dramatically, twisting and turning, until it glowed an eery green. From the corner's of her mind, she could hear the distant singing, they sounded like parts of a song, but they sounded like two different parts.

_'Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze'...'Riou rei croa riou ze rei va ze rei.'~_

The Miasma, dark, murky and hard to breathe through, seemed to be lifted from Akzeriuth, opening her eyes, she saw that indeed people began to look vastly healthier. They seemed to cheer as if by some miracle the threat was gone. At least it was until the Soldiers announced the mass evacuation, quickly she found herself, struggling against the tide of the crowd.

Managing to push against a wall and cling to it, she watched as many people rushed in and out of their homes, to fetch only the most important of their belongings. Many children cried for their parents, that...had not made it, and wives refused to leave without their husbands. She felt herself about to cry, tears threatening to overflow until Anise reached her.

"Natalia, you okay?" the little Fon Guardian couldn't have had better timing, she wanted to reach within herself and say that she was, but she shook her head. The feeling of Tear and Luke's Fonon's mingling with hers, caused something inside her to resonate with all these lost feelings, she couldn't quite pin it down but she did know she didn't like it.

"No,I- I don't think I quite am, but I'm feeling a bit better, seeing a familiar face," She admitted. Anise nodded in understanding, taking Natalia's hands in hers, leading her down the hill, before calling to the man a few meters behind them,"Hurry up Colonel, Guy's already way ahead of us!"

The trio, because as if somehow by magic, Jade had suddenly caught up to them, made their way through the crowd. Dodging impatient evacuees left and right, they slowed down a few times, a fault on Natalia's part ,but she wanted to reassure some worried and frantic families that there was a team being sent down to the mines, to rescue the miners trapped there.

* * *

"I'll be brief,"Jade began, "There was a report stating that 2 Squad's of the Vanguardescendeded down there, and both Squads the Preliminary and Medical Unit did not make a return or send any message." 

Guy whistled as the group descended, down the tunnel. 'It doesn't look like anyone traveled here recently."

"No, so the report with the Vanguard might be a fake."

"Jade, I'm taking Luke with me to go check on something," Ion quickly said, before speeding away with Luke giving the group no time to protest

* * *

Asch ran harder and faster, putting forth as much effort as possible, well as much effort that was possible for a wounded man. Legretta's aim, despite her wounds always rang true.

He finally found someplace, seemingly safe enough to rest for a few seconds before taking off again, he didn't know who gave Van the info he had, but Asch was afraid, all the rage he'd bottled up had quickly turned to fear.  However, the man came to know, Asch needed to warn Luke.

But he couldn't because the enemy had found him.

**_/Dreck...Sorry...I'm so sorry.../_ **

_< Asch...Brother, BROTHER!!>_

* * *

"Ion I can't hear him, why can't I hear him?!" Confused Luke began to pace to help calm down. They were in the corridor that led to the Passage Rings for this continent, now looking weakened. Ion observed that there was Ispanian still being written on the Passage Rings, Ion's widening in realization Ion turned to a frazzled Luke.

"Luke, the Passage Rings..!" The redhead looked up, still worried about Asch, his eyes widening in shock, and  then narrowing in anger. 

"i'M GONNA WRING HIS NECK!! VANDESDELCA!!"

"How do you know that name?" a voice asked, but Luke didn't hear it, running down the path that led to the control panel for the Passage Rings.

Ion turned to face a shocked Tear, "Fon Master...how does he know, that name?"

Ion shook his head, that wasn't something for him to answer.

* * *

By the time he got there, the shaking and quakes had already begun. Asch, was on his knees, in shock, staring at his hands. He hadn't finished writing in the Passage Rings and stood farther away from the machine. All this info Luke might've taken into account, but all that mattered was Asch. 

Asch was hurt. Brother was hurt. HIS brother was hurt.

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you," Van stepped out from the shadows holding a blade above Asch's back. Luke didn't have to hear the words from Van, knowing already what his options were.

"You know what to do, Replica." Van spat the word out like it somehow made him dirty to just say it. As if Luke were some lowly bug that didn;t even come up on people's radars.

"Luke...I'M SORRY...I.." Asch mumbled, Van casting him a look of contempt, Luke replied," Don't be, none of this was ever, or will ever be your fault."

Standing firmly in front of the machine, back straight head held high, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, Luke his hands to the sky, for what probably was the hundredth time. He thought about all the changes he'd made here, all the memories, all the hurt, all the pain...all the...Happiness. He'd hoped to find Asch there, so he could give  him the chance to enjoy it.

Smiling sadly, he wrote the last words on the Passage Ring, sealing Akzeriuth fate, "It's never, your fault. Brother."

And the ground began to give way. Luke fell into a trance, he could feel Mieu, the tiny cheagle nuzzling him, as Luke led him away, Tear and Natalia must've been carrying Asch because he could hear the vague thrum of happiness fill Asch up. It was only a sliver, but it was enough.

And Jade spoke into his ear with a sound of finality, "You will explain when this is all over and we've arrived somewhere safe."

Luke nodded slightly, Jade made a sound in acknowledgment, and lifted Luke from the other side, alleviating some of Guy;s burden.

Burden.

That's what he was, he'd shared some of his burden's with Asch and now look where his Brother was.

Luke was a burden.

'I'm a burden.', he thought as the entered the Tartarus, he was placed in the medical wing alongside Asch. He heard the ground give way, and the engine's startup, and for the finally, he let the tears fall. He cried himself to sleep that night.

Home was far away.

"It's not ever your fault Asch...It's always mine."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I'm leaving the country on the 19th for a wedding in BD(Bangladesh) and I'll be there for seven weeks, I may have access to the internet, I'll have to see, but until chapter 21 which will pick up where this left off, chapter 20 will be a Q&A type chapter, ask me or any one of the cast members question, anything that will spoil the plot will be told of either by me or the character it was directed towards.
> 
> So, hurry up and fill my inbox with you questions. I'm waiting. Really, I only have 4 days left.
> 
> 08/26/2016  
> Listen my dudes and dudettes, I appreciate your kudos with the passion and love of a thousand burning suns, but I really need those questions forbthe Q&A chapter. Ask questions to ANYONE in the cast and they will do their best to answer director(me) and producer( also me) and my beta's ( a friend of mine) included. Ask away, b/c I really want to do a Q&A chapter and if this takes of I'll do one every five chapters or so. Get asking, I want to busy myself before I write the heartwrenching chapter. I am typing this from my mother's iPad.


	20. Q&A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez...I don't even have the time to do any of this, but I digress, I got a few questions, and I shall answer them...blergh my sense of writing has been skewed.

Onto the questions. This will be relatively short and...I have one question to answer from another person, so one moment.

ephaporia **:Due to certain stain? Courtesy by Machina himself? Did they doing some intimate thing like..... s*x?**

_Oh...well I think that kinda speaks for itself, seeing as how...well your question does have some weight to it, considering Ace seems like a person who would keep everything meticulous and well organized no matter what. We see evidence of this in the Alternate Timeline ending in FF Type-0, if you've played or watched the walkthrough it should be there somewhere._

**_Did you think to rise some rate in this_ _fic?_ **

_I don't sorry. At first ,I was, but then stories just piled up and with school I probably won't, you might see some...juicy stuff floatin' around...*hint*_

**Anon: As rude as you were, it's your given right to be, but I was hoping for stuff to pile up in my inbox b/c I was away overseas for seven weeks with limited wi-fi access. But let us continue.**

**BALFOUR!!YOU'RE UP!!**

**Jade:...**

**She found a Rappig in her room-**

**Jade:Kill it, stuff it in a box and send it to Peony...under her name.**

**...That person is an Anon...and call them they until they choose to reveal their gender. Jeez, don't be rude, and let me finish the questions.**

**Jade:Hmph.**

**What are your theories regarding the extent of Luke's knowledge?**

**Jade:That's not what she wrote.**

**They, and yes it is.**

**Jade:Not Verbatim it's not.**

**Who the fuck cares if it's verbatim, answer it and we can all go home.**

**Jade:*Sigh* Must I.**

**Yes.**

**Jade: The extent of which Luke comprehends and compartmentalizes his surrounding has yet to be discovered.Perhaps when we get to wherever it is we were headed to-**

**Yulia City.**

**Jade:That, perhaps then the amount of knowledge he has collected and set aside will be brought forward...Now how much editing did you do to her query to make it sound so sophisticated?**

**STOP BEING RUDE TO MY READERS. Moving on.*Snort***

**Jade:What?**

**Is there a book called "Putting Up With Idiots 101"?**

**Jade:Oh my, she's making a jab at you.**

**They and no they are not, must you antagonize me, rhetorical question. Well...?**

**Jade:No there is not, you must either beat them into submission to assert your dominance and then thoroughly-**

**Moving on.FABRE...The younger one.**

**Luke:Technically am I really the younger one?**

**Shut it, I'm tired with no sugar.**

**Luke:...Rude.**

**I'M FUCKING SORRY! DID I FUCKING STUTTER.**

**Luke:...no.**

**Okay then.So now that you have failed to save Akzeriuth (again), what do you plan to do?**

**Luke:....C-can I take a p-pass on that one?**

**Of course sweetie...any profanity or obscene gestures?**

**Luke:...Tell her to go fuck herself.**

**Them, they. Okay next and last one,Out of curiosity; what's your lucky number?**

**Luke:S-seven...can I go now?**

**Go ahead, there's a tray of cookies, help yourself....Poor Kid. NEXT!!Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear!!**

**Natalia:You needn't shout so loud, I can hear you just fine.**

**Whatever, anyway...this... They request that you teach them how to use the Seventh Fonon.**

**Natalia:Impossible, and extremely dangerous. Unless you are born as such, the utilization of the Seventh Fonon is harmful to yourself and others. Seventh Fonists are born with the ability through a special gene inhabited within us. Even if you are born with it however, there is still the chance that your ability to use large Fonic Artes and Spells will be difficult, as a result, Seventh Fonists must train from a young age to avoid damage to one's health and the safeguarding of others.** **Next Question please.**

**Thank you for the satisfying answer,Why did you have honey blonde hair in the game, but bright blonde hair in the anime?**

**Natalia:??? I believe such a question is more your forte than mine madam. If you please...?**

**Sure, games starting in the early 2000's on 4th generation platforms were contained to a limited color palate and scheme, they all had to be around the same level of shading to be applied in game. Not only that, the bright colors were used to hide the darker undertones. Besides, the Anime gave more room for detail.**

**Natalia: I should hope that was satisfying Anon. Is that all?**

**Yes.**

**Natalia:Thank you. Good day.**

**Hmm....Nice. GRANTS...the younger.**

**Tear:Hello...I don't have too many do I.**

**Just the one...**

**Tear:OH THANK  YULIA!!...**

**...Okay, anyway the question is...I know the Grand Fonic Hymn off by heart.... nothing bad will come from me singing it right?**

**Tear:No, I should think not, especially if you don't fully comprehend the meaning behind the lyrics and the true meaning of the song.It wouldn't impact anyone either if you can't imbue the Fonon's alongside it.**

**Okay, thank you Tear.**

**Tear:You'reWelcome!-*Rushes***

**....I'm sorry.Vandesdelca Musto Fende!!!**

**Van:Must you reveal me.**

**We already know who you are you ass, get on with it.**

**Van: I would if YOU WOULD GIVE ME THE INFERNAL QUESTION!!!**

**IS THAT ANYWAY TO TALK TO SOMEONE!!**

**Van:YOU AREN'T A LADY-**

**DID I FUCKING SAY I'M A FUCKING LADY!**

**Van:Well no-**

**EXFUCKINGZACTLY....BITCH.**

**Van:I beg your-**

**Question!! ...Relinquish your sword Van.**

**Van:What?!**

**They asked for your sword, I'm giving them your sword.**

**Van:Isn't that for me to decide-**

**NO!! Hand over the sword.**

**Van:I'm sorry.**

**DID I FUCKING STUTTER...HAND OVER YOUR SWORD.**

**Van:You-!!**

**Okay you know what leave. I hope you stub your toe on the way out.**

**Van: The nerve-!**

**LEAVE....Arietta the Wild.**

**Arietta:...H-hello.**

**Before we begin, Anon would like to say that you are adorable.**

**Arietta:...**

**Okay question:Can you teach me how to speak to creatures?**

**Arietta:...**

**No.**

**Arietta:....**

**Nothing, not even a nod or shake?**

**Arietta:....!!**

**Okay...you can go now.**

* * *

 

**As Anticlimactic as that was, Natalia was the best one to interview though. Thank you to everyone nonetheless!!**

**Guy: YOU STILL HAVE YOUR QUESTION!!**

**FIGHT ME!**

**Guy:No!!! No, Yulia, NO!!!**

**Geez...here's your fucking chapter then ANON!!!  
**

 

 


	21. This isn't Goodbye

When I first started this story I had specific events in mind.

Specific things I wanted to share with you, and no I am not ending this story. Rather, for now, I want to separate the segments and hopefully restart my love for writing. I've been working on chapter 21 for a while and it's not going ANYWHERE.

At all.

And I decided, for now, I will write as much of that story as I can for part 2 of the series, yes it's a series now, so I can systematically give you guys updates. And 3 parts sounds good don't you think?

The game itself is 3 parts.

The first part,technically, ends at Akzeriuth or after Yulia City when you begin to play as Asch. Who might I comment, has a limited range of moves, and that displeases me greatly!!

But anyway, the 2nd part ends when Van supposedly dies, and the 3rd part is obviously the end of the game itself. I'll probably have some Q&A's at the end of each part, as in the end of however many chapters's are needed for that.

Anyways, I'm trying to get all my creative juices flowing, and trying to stop the Plot bunnies because instead of giving me new stories, they're giving me UA's. Fucking Universe Alterations, for Harry fucking Potter. Like no brain, I have 2 other stories you can wait in the back burner somewhere. Not to mention I have this story to do on Wattpad as well.

Anyway, this is just to let you guy's know.

Thank You for making it this far and sorry for disappointing you, if you had thought I uploaded a new chapter. If you'd like to contact me, here's a list.

Tumblr:http://iamtrashofthetrashiestorder.tumblr.com/ 9I am very proud of this,TBH)

G+:nastumiyuelkriess@gmail.com (I was going through a phase.)

~Prof.Val out.


End file.
